Brian Bornstein and Monica Miller
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195328677
- eISBN:
- 9780199869954
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328677.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
The phrase “God in the courtroom” conjures up several images, such as William Jennings Bryan defending religion against the tyranny of evolution, a robed deity passing divine judgment, a witness ...
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The phrase “God in the courtroom” conjures up several images, such as William Jennings Bryan defending religion against the tyranny of evolution, a robed deity passing divine judgment, a witness swearing to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” and so on. But there are numerous other, often subtle ways in which religion and law intersect. This book reviews legal developments and behavioral science research concerning the effects of religion on legal practice, decision making processes of various legal actors, and trial outcomes. For example, religious beliefs might influence the decisions of legal decision makers, such as judges and jurors. Attorneys might rely on religion, both in the way they approach their professional practice generally and in specific trial tactics (e.g., using a scriptural rationale in arguing for a particular trial outcome). This book covers these and related topics in exploring how religion affects the actions of all of the major participants at trial: jurors, judges, attorneys, and litigants.Less
The phrase “God in the courtroom” conjures up several images, such as William Jennings Bryan defending religion against the tyranny of evolution, a robed deity passing divine judgment, a witness swearing to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” and so on. But there are numerous other, often subtle ways in which religion and law intersect. This book reviews legal developments and behavioral science research concerning the effects of religion on legal practice, decision making processes of various legal actors, and trial outcomes. For example, religious beliefs might influence the decisions of legal decision makers, such as judges and jurors. Attorneys might rely on religion, both in the way they approach their professional practice generally and in specific trial tactics (e.g., using a scriptural rationale in arguing for a particular trial outcome). This book covers these and related topics in exploring how religion affects the actions of all of the major participants at trial: jurors, judges, attorneys, and litigants.
Brian L. Cutler (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331974
- eISBN:
- 9780199868193
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331974.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
This book provides a contemporary review of empirical and legal issues surrounding expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. The chapters address a variety of topics, including the ...
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This book provides a contemporary review of empirical and legal issues surrounding expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. The chapters address a variety of topics, including the scientific base underlying this form of expert testimony, the typical content and ethical issues regarding the testimony, admissibility decisions at the trial and appellate court levels, research on whether the testimony goes beyond common sense, agreement among experts about the underlying research, and the effects of expert testimony on juror decisions. Additional chapters raise limitations associated with expert testimony and question its appropriateness. These limitations include the shortcomings with respect to the underlying research and other issues associated with admissibility. Several chapters by experienced attorneys provide prosecution and defense perspectives on expert testimony.Less
This book provides a contemporary review of empirical and legal issues surrounding expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. The chapters address a variety of topics, including the scientific base underlying this form of expert testimony, the typical content and ethical issues regarding the testimony, admissibility decisions at the trial and appellate court levels, research on whether the testimony goes beyond common sense, agreement among experts about the underlying research, and the effects of expert testimony on juror decisions. Additional chapters raise limitations associated with expert testimony and question its appropriateness. These limitations include the shortcomings with respect to the underlying research and other issues associated with admissibility. Several chapters by experienced attorneys provide prosecution and defense perspectives on expert testimony.
Brian L. Cutler
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331974
- eISBN:
- 9780199868193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331974.003.012
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
The Afterword summarizes the book's main aims and usefulness. This book has reviewed a substantial number of factors associated with expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. It ...
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The Afterword summarizes the book's main aims and usefulness. This book has reviewed a substantial number of factors associated with expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. It has provided benchmarking information about the content of testimony and information that can be used to assist in addressing admissibility and trial issues. The book has also summarized the state of knowledge and provided directions for future research on expert testimony. The book aims to help with an understanding of contemporary research findings, both strengths and limitations, and making decisions about whether experts would be useful in specific cases.Less
The Afterword summarizes the book's main aims and usefulness. This book has reviewed a substantial number of factors associated with expert psychological testimony on eyewitness identification. It has provided benchmarking information about the content of testimony and information that can be used to assist in addressing admissibility and trial issues. The book has also summarized the state of knowledge and provided directions for future research on expert testimony. The book aims to help with an understanding of contemporary research findings, both strengths and limitations, and making decisions about whether experts would be useful in specific cases.
Michael Brydon
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199204816
- eISBN:
- 9780191709500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199204816.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The use of Hooker to promote the doctrine of passive obedience placed the Church in an impossible dilemma following the accession of James II. His reign discredited the Restoration political ...
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The use of Hooker to promote the doctrine of passive obedience placed the Church in an impossible dilemma following the accession of James II. His reign discredited the Restoration political understanding of Hooker, and threatened Hooker’s guardianship of the English Church through a resurgent Catholic exploitation of his vagaries. James’s enforced abdication, however, brought Hooker’s previously discounted doctrine of original compact back into favour amongst Whigs and some Tories, and more latitudinarian attitudes developed within the Church.Less
The use of Hooker to promote the doctrine of passive obedience placed the Church in an impossible dilemma following the accession of James II. His reign discredited the Restoration political understanding of Hooker, and threatened Hooker’s guardianship of the English Church through a resurgent Catholic exploitation of his vagaries. James’s enforced abdication, however, brought Hooker’s previously discounted doctrine of original compact back into favour amongst Whigs and some Tories, and more latitudinarian attitudes developed within the Church.
Stephanos Bibas
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195374681
- eISBN:
- 9780199933204
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374681.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Two centuries ago the criminal justice system was primarily run by laymen. In court, victims and defendants interacted face to face while lay jurors from the community sat in judgment. Jury trials ...
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Two centuries ago the criminal justice system was primarily run by laymen. In court, victims and defendants interacted face to face while lay jurors from the community sat in judgment. Jury trials passed moral judgment on crimes, vindicated victims and innocent defendants, denounced guilty defendants, and reconciled and healed wounded relationships. But over the last two centuries, lawyers have taken over the process, silencing victims and defendants and, in many cases, substituting a plea-bargaining system for voice of the jury. This lawyerized machinery has purchased efficient, speedy processing of many cases at the price of sacrificing softer values, such as reforming defendants and healing wounded victims and relationships. In other words, the U.S. legal system has bought quantity at the price of quality, without recognizing either the trade-off or the great gulf separating lawyers' and laymen's incentives, interests, values, and powers. This
book explores these trends and considers how criminal justice could better accommodate lay participation, values, and relationships.Less
Two centuries ago the criminal justice system was primarily run by laymen. In court, victims and defendants interacted face to face while lay jurors from the community sat in judgment. Jury trials passed moral judgment on crimes, vindicated victims and innocent defendants, denounced guilty defendants, and reconciled and healed wounded relationships. But over the last two centuries, lawyers have taken over the process, silencing victims and defendants and, in many cases, substituting a plea-bargaining system for voice of the jury. This lawyerized machinery has purchased efficient, speedy processing of many cases at the price of sacrificing softer values, such as reforming defendants and healing wounded victims and relationships. In other words, the U.S. legal system has bought quantity at the price of quality, without recognizing either the trade-off or the great gulf separating lawyers' and laymen's incentives, interests, values, and powers. This
book explores these trends and considers how criminal justice could better accommodate lay participation, values, and relationships.
Albert W. Dzur
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199874095
- eISBN:
- 9780199980024
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199874095.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
How can the jury—or something like it—increase its standing within criminal justice? The American Bar Association and other organizations concerned about the jury’s decline have urged a “more active ...
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How can the jury—or something like it—increase its standing within criminal justice? The American Bar Association and other organizations concerned about the jury’s decline have urged a “more active jury” with measures like jury note taking and questions for witnesses. Academic supporters endorse these reforms but overlook the possibility of broader institutional change. By contrast, grassroots activists advocating the “fully informed juror” seek to redress power imbalances within the courtroom through nullification. This chapter argues that both movements needlessly accept a dichotomy between lay and professional judgment; each favoring a different side, neither conceive co-responsibility for criminal justice. It suggests two institutional changes instead. First, carefully crafted jury sentencing authority—accepted practice for capital cases, for some components of civil cases, and in a handful of states for noncapital cases—can transparently rather than covertly empower laypeople in the court and may also moderate citizen influence on sentencing. Second, limits on plea bargaining should be considered. While plea bargaining is often justified by reasons of efficiency and cost, the penal state has its own inefficiencies and high economic and social costs that can be fully comprehended by the public only via greater participation in the criminal justice process.Less
How can the jury—or something like it—increase its standing within criminal justice? The American Bar Association and other organizations concerned about the jury’s decline have urged a “more active jury” with measures like jury note taking and questions for witnesses. Academic supporters endorse these reforms but overlook the possibility of broader institutional change. By contrast, grassroots activists advocating the “fully informed juror” seek to redress power imbalances within the courtroom through nullification. This chapter argues that both movements needlessly accept a dichotomy between lay and professional judgment; each favoring a different side, neither conceive co-responsibility for criminal justice. It suggests two institutional changes instead. First, carefully crafted jury sentencing authority—accepted practice for capital cases, for some components of civil cases, and in a handful of states for noncapital cases—can transparently rather than covertly empower laypeople in the court and may also moderate citizen influence on sentencing. Second, limits on plea bargaining should be considered. While plea bargaining is often justified by reasons of efficiency and cost, the penal state has its own inefficiencies and high economic and social costs that can be fully comprehended by the public only via greater participation in the criminal justice process.
Brian H. Bornstein and Monica K. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195328677
- eISBN:
- 9780199869954
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328677.003.001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
The United States has recently seen a religious resurgence. Americans are attending church in larger numbers than ever before, and mass media and popular entertainment are saturated with religious ...
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The United States has recently seen a religious resurgence. Americans are attending church in larger numbers than ever before, and mass media and popular entertainment are saturated with religious references. Importantly, religion is prominent in legal contexts as well, whether it involves the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, priests on trial for sexual abuse, jurors excused from jury service because of their religion, or judges sentencing criminal defendants to attend church. This chapter provides a thumbnail sketch of the place of religion in American life, explains why we should care about religion's role at trial, comments briefly on empirical issues in researching religion in legal contexts, and gives an overview of the remainder of the book. It also introduces a central theme in the book, namely, the normative and descriptive approaches to the issue. The normative question asks, “To what extent and in what ways should religion matter at trial?” The descriptive question asks “In what ways does religion matter at trial?”Less
The United States has recently seen a religious resurgence. Americans are attending church in larger numbers than ever before, and mass media and popular entertainment are saturated with religious references. Importantly, religion is prominent in legal contexts as well, whether it involves the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, priests on trial for sexual abuse, jurors excused from jury service because of their religion, or judges sentencing criminal defendants to attend church. This chapter provides a thumbnail sketch of the place of religion in American life, explains why we should care about religion's role at trial, comments briefly on empirical issues in researching religion in legal contexts, and gives an overview of the remainder of the book. It also introduces a central theme in the book, namely, the normative and descriptive approaches to the issue. The normative question asks, “To what extent and in what ways should religion matter at trial?” The descriptive question asks “In what ways does religion matter at trial?”
Brian H. Bornstein and Monica K. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195328677
- eISBN:
- 9780199869954
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328677.003.002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
Some attorneys rely on “folklore” or personal hunches when selecting a jury, while others use a more scientific route, taking advice from trial advocacy and jury selection books that provide ...
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Some attorneys rely on “folklore” or personal hunches when selecting a jury, while others use a more scientific route, taking advice from trial advocacy and jury selection books that provide information on selecting a favorable jury. Either method could result in the selection of a jury based on potential jurors' demographic characteristics, including religious characteristics. Additionally, legislative acts have affected the religious makeup of juries throughout U.S. history. Laws or legal procedures make it unlikely or impossible for members of some minority religions to be selected. In recent decades, legislation has been established which makes it unconstitutional to exclude individuals from jury duty based on their religion. Other laws allow some citizens to opt out of jury service on the basis of their religion. As a whole, this chapter highlights the legal debate surrounding procedures that affect the religious make up of the jury.Less
Some attorneys rely on “folklore” or personal hunches when selecting a jury, while others use a more scientific route, taking advice from trial advocacy and jury selection books that provide information on selecting a favorable jury. Either method could result in the selection of a jury based on potential jurors' demographic characteristics, including religious characteristics. Additionally, legislative acts have affected the religious makeup of juries throughout U.S. history. Laws or legal procedures make it unlikely or impossible for members of some minority religions to be selected. In recent decades, legislation has been established which makes it unconstitutional to exclude individuals from jury duty based on their religion. Other laws allow some citizens to opt out of jury service on the basis of their religion. As a whole, this chapter highlights the legal debate surrounding procedures that affect the religious make up of the jury.
Brian H. Bornstein and Monica K. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195328677
- eISBN:
- 9780199869954
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328677.003.005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
The research discussed in earlier chapters indicates that religious affiliation and a variety of religious beliefs can affect legal attitudes and behavior, such as juror decision making. It is ...
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The research discussed in earlier chapters indicates that religious affiliation and a variety of religious beliefs can affect legal attitudes and behavior, such as juror decision making. It is possible, however, that the group discussion process may neutralize the effects of any particular juror's beliefs, such that religious beliefs influence a juror's individual judgment, but not the jury's final verdict. Nevertheless, there is concern that religion will alter the deliberation process. For instance, jurors may mention their religious beliefs, cite scripture during deliberation, pray, or consult with pastors. Courts are divided about whether it is appropriate for jurors to do these religious activities and whether such jury behavior constitutes misconduct that necessitates a new trial. This chapter considers the role of jurors'religion in their deliberations, an issue that has been raised in numerous recent cases.Less
The research discussed in earlier chapters indicates that religious affiliation and a variety of religious beliefs can affect legal attitudes and behavior, such as juror decision making. It is possible, however, that the group discussion process may neutralize the effects of any particular juror's beliefs, such that religious beliefs influence a juror's individual judgment, but not the jury's final verdict. Nevertheless, there is concern that religion will alter the deliberation process. For instance, jurors may mention their religious beliefs, cite scripture during deliberation, pray, or consult with pastors. Courts are divided about whether it is appropriate for jurors to do these religious activities and whether such jury behavior constitutes misconduct that necessitates a new trial. This chapter considers the role of jurors'religion in their deliberations, an issue that has been raised in numerous recent cases.
J. Don Read and Sarah L. Desmarais
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331974
- eISBN:
- 9780199868193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331974.003.006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
A review of the methods and outcomes of techniques used to assess levels of lay knowledge concerning the impact of various eyewitness factors on eyewitness identification. The results for thirty ...
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A review of the methods and outcomes of techniques used to assess levels of lay knowledge concerning the impact of various eyewitness factors on eyewitness identification. The results for thirty system and estimator variables in twenty-three surveys are summarized and compared to expert knowledge of the same factors. It is concluded that historic evaluations of lay knowledge are of limited utility because assessment procedures require continual monitoring to assure that lay knowledge is evaluated in an accurate and representative manner. Further, whereas the outcomes of direct method studies demonstrate that laypersons are very often aware of many unreliable aspects of eyewitness testimony, indirect methodologies have not provided equal optimism about such knowledge and the ability of lay persons to apply it to the case at hand. As a consequence, many current researchers argue that juror decisions may benefit from admissible expert eyewitness testimony in the courtroom.Less
A review of the methods and outcomes of techniques used to assess levels of lay knowledge concerning the impact of various eyewitness factors on eyewitness identification. The results for thirty system and estimator variables in twenty-three surveys are summarized and compared to expert knowledge of the same factors. It is concluded that historic evaluations of lay knowledge are of limited utility because assessment procedures require continual monitoring to assure that lay knowledge is evaluated in an accurate and representative manner. Further, whereas the outcomes of direct method studies demonstrate that laypersons are very often aware of many unreliable aspects of eyewitness testimony, indirect methodologies have not provided equal optimism about such knowledge and the ability of lay persons to apply it to the case at hand. As a consequence, many current researchers argue that juror decisions may benefit from admissible expert eyewitness testimony in the courtroom.
Michael R. Leippe and Donna Eisenstadt
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331974
- eISBN:
- 9780199868193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331974.003.008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
This chapter examines the influence of eyewitness expert testimony on jurors' beliefs and judgments in trials that include eyewitnesses. Most surveys indicate that prospective jurors overly believe ...
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This chapter examines the influence of eyewitness expert testimony on jurors' beliefs and judgments in trials that include eyewitnesses. Most surveys indicate that prospective jurors overly believe confident eyewitnesses and have misconceptions about memory. Expert testimony aims to correct these shortcomings by educating jurors about the psychology of eyewitness reporting and factors that affect reports. Two dozen trial simulation experiments over thirty years, taken together, indicate that expert testimony produces modest gains in juror knowledge, which may improve sensitivity to evidence quality, but often do not. Expert testimony also tends to increase skepticism about prosecution eyewitnesses and, in turn, increase acquittals. Appropriately, skepticism is typically limited to cases involving central but questionable eyewitness evidence, and salient and memorable expert testimony. Overall, eyewitness expert testimony has limited influence. Expert testimony is identified as a form of persuasive communication, and recipient, source, message, and context factors that create obstacles to persuasion are reviewed.Less
This chapter examines the influence of eyewitness expert testimony on jurors' beliefs and judgments in trials that include eyewitnesses. Most surveys indicate that prospective jurors overly believe confident eyewitnesses and have misconceptions about memory. Expert testimony aims to correct these shortcomings by educating jurors about the psychology of eyewitness reporting and factors that affect reports. Two dozen trial simulation experiments over thirty years, taken together, indicate that expert testimony produces modest gains in juror knowledge, which may improve sensitivity to evidence quality, but often do not. Expert testimony also tends to increase skepticism about prosecution eyewitnesses and, in turn, increase acquittals. Appropriately, skepticism is typically limited to cases involving central but questionable eyewitness evidence, and salient and memorable expert testimony. Overall, eyewitness expert testimony has limited influence. Expert testimony is identified as a form of persuasive communication, and recipient, source, message, and context factors that create obstacles to persuasion are reviewed.
Monica K. Miller and Brian H. Bornstein (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199829996
- eISBN:
- 9780199301492
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199829996.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
Stress and trauma have potential to affect the behavior and performance of victims, litigants, witnesses, judges, jurors, police, and attorneys; this in turn can impact the functioning of the legal ...
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Stress and trauma have potential to affect the behavior and performance of victims, litigants, witnesses, judges, jurors, police, and attorneys; this in turn can impact the functioning of the legal system as a whole. Stress and trauma can also affect the individual on a more personal level, affecting their relationships, job satisfaction and overall health. On the other hand, contact with the legal system has potential to promote wellbeing for many individuals, such as victims who feel that justice was served and jurors and judges who feel they have helped preserve the integrity of the legal system. This book consolidates the theory and research concerning the impact that being involved with the legal system has on a variety of groups. It also discusses the lengths the legal system has gone to in order to protect these individuals, such as counseling for jurors after stressful trials, and allowing children to testify by closed circuit TV. Finally, after reviewing the literature and summarizing the existing research, each chapter points out where research is lacking. In all, the book provides an overview of how being involved in the legal system can affect various groups of people ranging from witnesses to attorneys to victims.Less
Stress and trauma have potential to affect the behavior and performance of victims, litigants, witnesses, judges, jurors, police, and attorneys; this in turn can impact the functioning of the legal system as a whole. Stress and trauma can also affect the individual on a more personal level, affecting their relationships, job satisfaction and overall health. On the other hand, contact with the legal system has potential to promote wellbeing for many individuals, such as victims who feel that justice was served and jurors and judges who feel they have helped preserve the integrity of the legal system. This book consolidates the theory and research concerning the impact that being involved with the legal system has on a variety of groups. It also discusses the lengths the legal system has gone to in order to protect these individuals, such as counseling for jurors after stressful trials, and allowing children to testify by closed circuit TV. Finally, after reviewing the literature and summarizing the existing research, each chapter points out where research is lacking. In all, the book provides an overview of how being involved in the legal system can affect various groups of people ranging from witnesses to attorneys to victims.
Brian H. Bornstein and Edie Greene
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190201340
- eISBN:
- 9780190201357
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190201340.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
The Jury Under Fire: Myth, Controversy, and Reform examines a number of controversial beliefs about juries that have persisted in recent years, as well as the implications of these views for jury ...
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The Jury Under Fire: Myth, Controversy, and Reform examines a number of controversial beliefs about juries that have persisted in recent years, as well as the implications of these views for jury reform. It reviews empirical research on both criminal and civil juries that uses a variety of research methodologies: simulations, archival analyses, field studies, and juror interviews. Each chapter is titled with a mistaken assumption or myth about jurors or juries. The book critiques these myths and relies on social science research findings to inform empirically grounded reform efforts. It focuses on the experience of serving as a juror; jury selection and jury size; and the impact of evidence from eyewitnesses, experts, confessions, and juvenile offenders. It also covers the process of deciding damages and punishment and the role of emotions in jurors’ decision making, and it compares jurors’ and judges’ decisions. Finally, it reviews a broad range of efforts to reform the jury, including the most promising reforms that have a strong empirical foundation. Sample legal cases are included throughout the book to illustrate key points and promote reader interest. The book is unique in its comprehensive integration of social science research on juries, legal issues, and the real-world trials that splash across our headlines and television screens.Less
The Jury Under Fire: Myth, Controversy, and Reform examines a number of controversial beliefs about juries that have persisted in recent years, as well as the implications of these views for jury reform. It reviews empirical research on both criminal and civil juries that uses a variety of research methodologies: simulations, archival analyses, field studies, and juror interviews. Each chapter is titled with a mistaken assumption or myth about jurors or juries. The book critiques these myths and relies on social science research findings to inform empirically grounded reform efforts. It focuses on the experience of serving as a juror; jury selection and jury size; and the impact of evidence from eyewitnesses, experts, confessions, and juvenile offenders. It also covers the process of deciding damages and punishment and the role of emotions in jurors’ decision making, and it compares jurors’ and judges’ decisions. Finally, it reviews a broad range of efforts to reform the jury, including the most promising reforms that have a strong empirical foundation. Sample legal cases are included throughout the book to illustrate key points and promote reader interest. The book is unique in its comprehensive integration of social science research on juries, legal issues, and the real-world trials that splash across our headlines and television screens.
Jennifer K. Robbennolt and Valerie P. Hans
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780814724941
- eISBN:
- 9780814724712
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724941.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Tort law regulates most human activities: from driving a car to using consumer products to providing or receiving medical care. Injuries caused by dog bites, slips and falls, fender benders, bridge ...
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Tort law regulates most human activities: from driving a car to using consumer products to providing or receiving medical care. Injuries caused by dog bites, slips and falls, fender benders, bridge collapses, adverse reactions to a medication, bar fights, oil spills, and more all implicate the law of torts. The rules and procedures by which tort cases are resolved engage deeply-held intuitions about justice, causation, intentionality, and the obligations that we owe to one another. Tort rules and procedures also generate significant controversy—most visibly in political debates over tort reform. The Psychology of Tort Law explores tort law through the lens of psychological science. Drawing on a wealth of psychological research and their own experiences teaching and researching tort law, Jennifer K. Robbennolt and Valerie P. Hans examine the psychological assumptions that underlie doctrinal rules and tort law practice. They explore how tort law influences the behavior and decision-making of potential plaintiffs and defendants, examining how doctors and patients, drivers, manufacturers and purchasers of products, property owners, and others make decisions against the backdrop of tort law. They show how the judges and jurors who decide tort claims are influenced by psychological phenomena in deciding cases. And they reveal how plaintiffs, defendants, and their attorneys resolve tort disputes in the shadow of tort law. Robbennolt and Hans here shed fascinating light on the tort system, and on the psychological dynamics which undergird its functioning.Less
Tort law regulates most human activities: from driving a car to using consumer products to providing or receiving medical care. Injuries caused by dog bites, slips and falls, fender benders, bridge collapses, adverse reactions to a medication, bar fights, oil spills, and more all implicate the law of torts. The rules and procedures by which tort cases are resolved engage deeply-held intuitions about justice, causation, intentionality, and the obligations that we owe to one another. Tort rules and procedures also generate significant controversy—most visibly in political debates over tort reform. The Psychology of Tort Law explores tort law through the lens of psychological science. Drawing on a wealth of psychological research and their own experiences teaching and researching tort law, Jennifer K. Robbennolt and Valerie P. Hans examine the psychological assumptions that underlie doctrinal rules and tort law practice. They explore how tort law influences the behavior and decision-making of potential plaintiffs and defendants, examining how doctors and patients, drivers, manufacturers and purchasers of products, property owners, and others make decisions against the backdrop of tort law. They show how the judges and jurors who decide tort claims are influenced by psychological phenomena in deciding cases. And they reveal how plaintiffs, defendants, and their attorneys resolve tort disputes in the shadow of tort law. Robbennolt and Hans here shed fascinating light on the tort system, and on the psychological dynamics which undergird its functioning.
Neal Feigenson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226413730
- eISBN:
- 9780226413877
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226413877.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
Enterprising trial lawyers are using photos, videos, animations, and sound files to recreate litigants’ private sensory experiences – their impaired vision or hearing due to accidents or malpractice, ...
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Enterprising trial lawyers are using photos, videos, animations, and sound files to recreate litigants’ private sensory experiences – their impaired vision or hearing due to accidents or malpractice, or their misperceptions of events under stressful situations. These demonstrative exhibits, it is claimed, let jurors know, and not merely know about, what it’s like to experience what the litigant does. But how is it possible to share another person’s sensations? And why should courts ever allow this sort of evidence? Simulations of subjectivity are made possible by a confluence of digital technology, clinical science, creative lawyering, the law of evidence, and popular culture. This book explores the epistemological, psychological, and sometimes scientific underpinnings of different types of evidentiary simulations. Through detailed case studies, it examines how these exhibits are constructed, presented, and understood in court, elucidating their visual rhetoric as well as their probative value. And it critically evaluates whether judges and lawyers are treating these simulations in ways that illuminate or, on the contrary, obscure the very different sorts of claims they make to provide reliable knowledge of litigants’ minds.Less
Enterprising trial lawyers are using photos, videos, animations, and sound files to recreate litigants’ private sensory experiences – their impaired vision or hearing due to accidents or malpractice, or their misperceptions of events under stressful situations. These demonstrative exhibits, it is claimed, let jurors know, and not merely know about, what it’s like to experience what the litigant does. But how is it possible to share another person’s sensations? And why should courts ever allow this sort of evidence? Simulations of subjectivity are made possible by a confluence of digital technology, clinical science, creative lawyering, the law of evidence, and popular culture. This book explores the epistemological, psychological, and sometimes scientific underpinnings of different types of evidentiary simulations. Through detailed case studies, it examines how these exhibits are constructed, presented, and understood in court, elucidating their visual rhetoric as well as their probative value. And it critically evaluates whether judges and lawyers are treating these simulations in ways that illuminate or, on the contrary, obscure the very different sorts of claims they make to provide reliable knowledge of litigants’ minds.
William Douglas Woody and Krista D. Forrest
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781479860371
- eISBN:
- 9781479828128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479860371.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter examines safeguards for suspects and defendants who provide false or coerced confessions, opening with laypersons’ typical acceptance of confessions. The authors then review protections ...
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This chapter examines safeguards for suspects and defendants who provide false or coerced confessions, opening with laypersons’ typical acceptance of confessions. The authors then review protections from law enforcement, particularly recommendations that police video-record interviews and interrogations with a balanced perspective. The authors next explore court decisions that shape jurors’ roles in evaluation of confession evidence; they then discuss the growing body of scholarship that investigates jurors’ perceptions and trial decisions. The authors then examine judges, ways that judges differ from jurors and juries, and ways that judges remain vulnerable to false or coerced confessions and the testimony of experts. The authors emphasize the limited effectiveness of these safeguards to prevent a false confession from becoming a mistaken conviction.Less
This chapter examines safeguards for suspects and defendants who provide false or coerced confessions, opening with laypersons’ typical acceptance of confessions. The authors then review protections from law enforcement, particularly recommendations that police video-record interviews and interrogations with a balanced perspective. The authors next explore court decisions that shape jurors’ roles in evaluation of confession evidence; they then discuss the growing body of scholarship that investigates jurors’ perceptions and trial decisions. The authors then examine judges, ways that judges differ from jurors and juries, and ways that judges remain vulnerable to false or coerced confessions and the testimony of experts. The authors emphasize the limited effectiveness of these safeguards to prevent a false confession from becoming a mistaken conviction.
William Hirst, Alin Coman, and Charles B. Stone
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199920754
- eISBN:
- 9780199950133
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199920754.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Forensic Psychology
Although psychology has intensely studied both eyewitness testimony and jury decision-making, there has only been minimal research on the efforts jury members make during deliberation to collectively ...
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Although psychology has intensely studied both eyewitness testimony and jury decision-making, there has only been minimal research on the efforts jury members make during deliberation to collectively and collaboratively remember the testimony they heard during a trial. This chapter reviews the Court’s instructions to juries about the reliability of their memories and the burgeoning laboratory-based literature on collaborative remembering and the ways collaborative efforts shape subsequent memory, particularly, the collective memory of a jury. Although this research does not specifically examine the memories emerging from jury deliberation, it is suggestive. While the Courts urge jurors to trust their collective memories over their notes or written transcripts, the laboratory-based research indicates that group dynamics during conversational interactions may not only lead to selective remembering, but may substantially alter what jurors remember and forget about a trial. The collective memories of juries may not be a reliable recollection of courtroom testimony.Less
Although psychology has intensely studied both eyewitness testimony and jury decision-making, there has only been minimal research on the efforts jury members make during deliberation to collectively and collaboratively remember the testimony they heard during a trial. This chapter reviews the Court’s instructions to juries about the reliability of their memories and the burgeoning laboratory-based literature on collaborative remembering and the ways collaborative efforts shape subsequent memory, particularly, the collective memory of a jury. Although this research does not specifically examine the memories emerging from jury deliberation, it is suggestive. While the Courts urge jurors to trust their collective memories over their notes or written transcripts, the laboratory-based research indicates that group dynamics during conversational interactions may not only lead to selective remembering, but may substantially alter what jurors remember and forget about a trial. The collective memories of juries may not be a reliable recollection of courtroom testimony.
L. Jonathan Cohen
- Published in print:
- 1977
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198244127
- eISBN:
- 9780191680748
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198244127.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Science
This chapter explores the difficulty about a criterion. It first introduces the inapplicability of Carnapian criteria. No familiar criterion of mathematical probability is applicable to the ...
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This chapter explores the difficulty about a criterion. It first introduces the inapplicability of Carnapian criteria. No familiar criterion of mathematical probability is applicable to the evaluation of juridical proofs. Statistical criteria have already been shown to be inapplicable. Carnapian criteria require a unanimity about range-measure, which cannot be assumed. To suppose that jurors should evaluate proofs in terms of a coherent betting policy is to ignore the fact that rational men do not bet on issues where the outcome is not discoverable otherwise than from the data on which the odds themselves have to be based. In addition, the point here is not that there is anything intrinsically and universally wrong with evaluating mathematical probabilities in terms of statistical frequencies, range-overlap or betting odds. So the onus is on the mathematicist to propose some other criterion, which is not excluded by any of the special circumstances of judicial proof.Less
This chapter explores the difficulty about a criterion. It first introduces the inapplicability of Carnapian criteria. No familiar criterion of mathematical probability is applicable to the evaluation of juridical proofs. Statistical criteria have already been shown to be inapplicable. Carnapian criteria require a unanimity about range-measure, which cannot be assumed. To suppose that jurors should evaluate proofs in terms of a coherent betting policy is to ignore the fact that rational men do not bet on issues where the outcome is not discoverable otherwise than from the data on which the odds themselves have to be based. In addition, the point here is not that there is anything intrinsically and universally wrong with evaluating mathematical probabilities in terms of statistical frequencies, range-overlap or betting odds. So the onus is on the mathematicist to propose some other criterion, which is not excluded by any of the special circumstances of judicial proof.
Sonali Chakravarti
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226654157
- eISBN:
- 9780226654324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226654324.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
Any argument celebrating the distinctive legal and political role American juries play evokes a reference to Tocqueville’s observations during his 1831 trip. While many have pointed to Tocqueville’s ...
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Any argument celebrating the distinctive legal and political role American juries play evokes a reference to Tocqueville’s observations during his 1831 trip. While many have pointed to Tocqueville’s admiration of the jury system as a schoolhouse for civic participation, I argue that Tocqueville sets up, but forgoes, the opportunity to make jurors empowered enough to counter the ills of democracy he also enumerates. His sense of moderation regarding the republican virtue of participation and his admiration for aristocratic leadership make it impossible for him to cultivate the ideal of jurors as radically enfranchised citizens, meaning those who have an understanding of the weight and expectations of legal judgment but are also able to challenge the authority of the law in certain instances, such as via jury nullification (the undisclosed power a jury has to find a defendant not guilty because they find the law itself objectionable).Less
Any argument celebrating the distinctive legal and political role American juries play evokes a reference to Tocqueville’s observations during his 1831 trip. While many have pointed to Tocqueville’s admiration of the jury system as a schoolhouse for civic participation, I argue that Tocqueville sets up, but forgoes, the opportunity to make jurors empowered enough to counter the ills of democracy he also enumerates. His sense of moderation regarding the republican virtue of participation and his admiration for aristocratic leadership make it impossible for him to cultivate the ideal of jurors as radically enfranchised citizens, meaning those who have an understanding of the weight and expectations of legal judgment but are also able to challenge the authority of the law in certain instances, such as via jury nullification (the undisclosed power a jury has to find a defendant not guilty because they find the law itself objectionable).
Sonali Chakravarti
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226654157
- eISBN:
- 9780226654324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226654324.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Legal Profession and Ethics
As the standard for the extremely high burden of proof on the state necessary for a guilty verdict, the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” is the quintessential legal convention that jurors may have ...
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As the standard for the extremely high burden of proof on the state necessary for a guilty verdict, the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” is the quintessential legal convention that jurors may have heard about before entering the courtroom and are mandated to reckon with during deliberation. What is less familiar is a connection that could be made between the juror’s role in interpreting the standard and the tools that the process gives them for an assessment of their own decision making (such as through an interrogation of implicit bias, the demands of the presumption of innocence, and the seductions of narrative closure). Applying the ideals of reasonable doubt to the perceptions of jurors themselves in relation to both the factual and moral questions embedded in the charge is one way to highlight how critical the task of self-assessment is, equal to external engagement with the evidence.Less
As the standard for the extremely high burden of proof on the state necessary for a guilty verdict, the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” is the quintessential legal convention that jurors may have heard about before entering the courtroom and are mandated to reckon with during deliberation. What is less familiar is a connection that could be made between the juror’s role in interpreting the standard and the tools that the process gives them for an assessment of their own decision making (such as through an interrogation of implicit bias, the demands of the presumption of innocence, and the seductions of narrative closure). Applying the ideals of reasonable doubt to the perceptions of jurors themselves in relation to both the factual and moral questions embedded in the charge is one way to highlight how critical the task of self-assessment is, equal to external engagement with the evidence.
