"Baseball has a strike zone and the infield fly rule. Football has clipping and onside kicks. Basketball has both personal and team fouls. And in the litigation arena there are pre-trial and in-limine rulings. Judges are the umpires and referees. They both make the rules and make the attorneys follow the rules. Litigators understand what playing field they are on and which guidelines they are expected to follow."

"Not so with jurors. They often know what stadium they are in and how to behave as spectators. But they usually are not given legal instruction - the rules that guide their verdicts - until the end of the case..."

By the time jurors hear the official jury instructions, they have already formed their own interpretations and definitions of the legal and evidentiary rules involved in the case. This new article discusses simple ways to create rules for jurors to organize and provide context for the way they think about your case - gaining a strategic advantage in trial.

To read the complete article, click here.

Richard Gabriel and CBS News’ 48 Hours Mystery recently teamed up to study the effect of unprecedented publicity in the trial of Casey Anthony in Orlando, Florida. Decision Analysis designed and conducted a focus group for the show to study pretrial media coverage, commentary and public access to many of the documents and photographs that will be shown in trial has affected jurors in the venue and its resulting impact of a defendant’s right to a fair trial.

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Click here to watch the complete 48 Hours episode.

ORLANDO, Fla. - It has been two-and-a-half years since Casey Anthony was first arrested and charged with murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, in a criminal case that has become a public obsession. So defense attorneys brought in Richard Gabriel - who is by reputation - one of the best trial consultants in the country, to help them try to pick a favorable jury.

"This is the most high-profile case in America," Gabriel tells Roberts. "The media pressure on this has been almost entirely negative... with 80 to 90 percent ... believing that she's guilty already." "48 Hours" asked the defense's consultant, Richard Gabriel, to conduct the focus group.=

"She's already been on trial."
"Been on trial for two years."
"She's basically been tried by the media..."
"Unfortunately, that's it. Everybody's already formed their opinion, and for the most part, it's guilty!"

"Do you think it's possible that she'll be able to get a fair trial in Orlando?" Roberts asks the focus group.

Almost unanimously, the group responds: "No."

"The judge has to find people who have the ability to basically erase from their minds everything they've heard and seen about this case and discussed," says Richard Gabriel, the defense's trial consultant....