Anne Reed at  Deliberations finally  took me up on my Madame Zuwonga challenge.  In describing my experience with jury consultants, I wrote:

It seems closer to voodoo than science, and it disturbs me that they suggest that they have an ability that belongs only Madame Zuwonga, the Mind Reader.

This is most assuredly not the image that jury consultants want to project.  So Anne shot back:

Where do people get the idea that jury consultants are pushy clairvoyants?  From jury consultants themselves, it seems, or at least a few of them.

So are we on the same page on this?  Not exactly.  Anne goes on to say:

The jury consultants I know [plug omitted] are responsible, thoughtful people who are trying to provide assistance, not magic tricks. 

I can imagine the image that Anne has of my Madame Zuwonga, bright colorful robes floating in the wind, large colorful beaded jewelry dangling from every appendage.  But that’s not my Madame Zuwonga.  Nope, mine wears Prada.  And has a bunch of letters after her name.  She carries papers and a briefcase and wears no very little makeup as far as I’m aware. 

She and her team were very professional and scientific in their approach.  They listened thoughtfully and discussed their thoughts.  They offered no guarantees. 

But at some point, I sought some advice for the small fortune they were paid.  And they told me who to look for and who not to look for.  They attributed qualities and beliefs to people.  Their many letters after their names suggested that they indeed had some psychological basis for their opinions. 

It presented no Taoist dilemma for me; they weren’t vetoing my views in favor or their.  But they presented their views as if they knew something.  I wished they did.  I hoped they did.  They didn’t, at least as far as my jury was concerned. 

I’m sure they were responsible, thoughtful people who were trying to provide assistance.  I know that they thought of themselves that way.  But at the end of the day, a lot of money was spent, and a lot or reliance was placed, on a service that neither bore out its promise nor could do any better than a dart thrown at a list of the jury pool.

 I wish they used magic tricks.  It might have worked better.