Evaluation of Pre-Trial Publicity as a Factor Affecting EWT

Question 1

+ Steblay (meta-analysis)

Answer 1

Steblay conducted a meta-analysis across forty-four tests and findings were often in support of the idea that participants exposed to negative pre-trial publicity were more likely to find a defendant guilty (+ consistent and reliable research)

Question 2

+ Thomas (emphasis of media reports)

Answer 2

Thomas found that jurors recalled the emphasis of media reports; 66% did not recall details reported in the media but did recall whether the media suggested if the defendant was guilty. In high-profile cases, 20% of jurors admitted to finding it hard to put these reports out of their mind

Question 3

+ Ruva (related vs. unrelated news articles)

Answer 3

Ruva et all gave mock jurors news articles either containing negative pre-trial publicity or unrelated to the trial. They later viewed and a videotaped murder trial, after which they either made collaborative group decisions about guilt or individual decisions about guit. Exposure to PTP significantly affected the guilty verdicts, sentence lengths, and perceptions of defendant credibility

Question 4

• Mock juries and research samples

Answer 4

• A lot of research on race and JDM relies on mock-juries which use student participants