Ch. 11 - Juries and Legal Decision Making

Question 1

Justice

Answer 1

the moral correctness, fairness, peace, and harmony of people’s collective conduct

Question 2

Legal decision making

Answer 2

a fixed and formal process used to decide the facts in a dispute and to decide on the appropriate interpretation and/or application of laws in the circumstances

Question 3

Operational decision making

Answer 3

a process that is often rapid and informal using personal knowledge, skills and abilities to determine the most appropriate course of action

Question 4

Trier of law

Answer 4

the legal decision maker who decides the proper interpretation and application of law in a dispute

Question 5

trier of fact

Answer 5

the legal decision maker who decides the facts relevant to a dispute

Question 6

Jury

Answer 6

a group of people convened to make a legal decision by functioning as a trier of fact

Question 7

juror

Answer 7

a person who sits on a jury

Question 8

venirepersons

Answer 8

members of the public who are gathered for jury selection; may become a juror in an upcoming trial

Question 9

mock jury research

Answer 9

simulations in which people are presented with legal information and asked to act like jurors when considering information

Question 10

alternates

Answer 10

extra jurors selected in case some selected jurors are not available to be sworn in on the first day of trial

Question 11

Peremptory challenges

Answer 11

the right to dismiss a potential juror without explanation

Question 12

Challenges for cause

Answer 12

a power granted by a judge that allows potential jurors to be asked a few specific questions related to a particular source of bias

Question 13

Continuance

Answer 13

a judicial order to delay a trial

Question 14

voir dire

Answer 14

a trial within a trial, in which specific questions of law are decided, including whether potential jurors are biased

Question 15

Charge to the jury

Answer 15

a set of special instructions given to the jury at the end of the trial concerning the decisions to be made in the case at hand

Question 16

Hung Jury

Answer 16

a jury that is unable to reach a proper decision within a reasonable time frame

Question 17

jury nullification

Answer 17

occurs when a jury acquits an accused in spite of clear evidence of guilt because it does not believe that the law should apply in the circumstances

Question 18

paradigmatic models

Answer 18

models of legal decision making that assume people’s thought processes are mechanical or rule-governed in nature

Question 19

Narrative models

Answer 19

models of legal decision making that assume that triers of fact construct stories to help them remember, organize, and evaluate evidence

Question 20

Story Model

Answer 20

particular narrative model of decision making that assumes that triers of fact proceed through three stages of legal decision making: story construction, verdict representation, and story classification