Connecting with Juries by Frequently Using the Word "Folks"

The title of this post was sort of a trick. I'm not really advocating the use of the word "folks" as a means of connecting with a jury. Am I in the minority? I think so. I see it all the time. Put a lawyer in front of a jury and it's only seconds before he'll start using the word "folks," imagining, I guess, that he's keeping things simple and talking in plain words that even the jurors can understand.

Voir dire: "How many of you folks think that . . ."

Direct examination: "Doctor, can you tell these folks in the jury about . . ."

Closing argument: "Before I begin, I want to thank you folks for . . ."

To me, it comes off as false and condescending, as do some related practices like intentionally dressing in a sloppy manner or trying to relate every important point to something about baseball.

Are lawyers really so different from everyone else that they must engage in such distortions of their personalities in order to "connect" with a jury?

I don't think so. The oldest advice continues to be the best advice: be yourself. If you're someone who naturally uses the word folks or is incredibly enthusiastic about sports metaphors or who dresses in scuffed shoes and stained ties, then have at it. But if you don't, your next trial probably isn't a good time to start. Act as you normally do. Unless you're a true monster of pomposity, being seen as condescending is far worse than being recognized as the person you genuinely are.

Related post: "Communicating with Juries by Acting Like a Regular Person: Is It Even Possible?"

Comments

[Quad Cities Injury Lawyer]

I'm a "folks" guy. I don't overuse it, but as a young lawyer I think it splits the difference between the super-formal: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury" and the super-informal: "'Sup, guys."

Frankly, I use "folks" because I don't want to use "guys" and can't think of another way.

[Eh Nonymous]

QCIL points out the right reason to use folks: because in the lawyer's dialect, there isn't a good substitute that isn't insulting or dangerous.

I could think of half a dozen, I would think, but many of them would be unnatural.

I sometimes (and never been in front of a jury, so not there) say "Folks" as the appropriate plural for "human" when I want to stay away from

- scientific pomposity (beings of the genus homo sapiens...)
- excessive formality (ladies and gentlemen of the jury...)
- generality or distance (people...)

etc.

I would also advise against "My peeps," "Folxen," "Y'all," and "Youse." But as Evan writes, it's about appropriate individual choices.

Of course, this may all change when I have my first jury trial. Time will tell.

Thanks for the post, ES.

[Richard]

What about using a Pittsburgh dialect and address the jury by saying "yins"? That just screams fancy-pants lawyer.

[Ron Miller]

I use folks too. I think the larger advice is you have to be yourself and do what comes naturally. People generally - no always - sense frauds and juries are people. We have a lawyer in our area who wears loud suits and tons of diamonds when he tries cases which goes against everything you would read in David Ball's book or any other trial book that touches on this issue. Yet he has more than 500 million in collectable verdicts. The message: be authentic to who you are or there is a good chance the jury will sense it and penalize your client accordingly.