Forensic Psych Exam Flashcards
how many conviction offences can be tried without a jury and what are they?
1.misdemeanours
/summary offences
2. indictable/felony
3. hybrid offences
what are misdemeanours?
minor offences with a max jail time of 6 months (possessions of marijuana)
what are indictable/felony offences?
max penalty is life sentence (crown prosecutor has to give okay for this kind of trial)
what does no limitation period mean?
any point following offence, a person can be charged and convicted
how are hybrid offences decided?
left at the discretion of the crown with which offence they want to proceed with (effected by complexity of the case and the offenders record)
what kind of offences are the bulk of cases in Canada?
hybrid
what do summary offences have the right to and not to?
right to: judge alone
not right to: judge and jury
what do indictable offences have the right to?
judge alone and judge and jury
what are the three parts of selecting a jury?
- selection from a list of citizens
- part of the Jury Pool
- Selected for Jury
is jury pool participation mandated by law?
yes
what are some excuses of jury duty?
financial hardships
caregiver responsibilities
health concerns
what is a challenge for cause?
prosecutor can object to a particular juror if they believe there is a reason why the oerson should not be permitted to serve as a jury member
what are peremptory challenges?
not wanting a jury member without reason (not longer allowed since 2019)
what is representativeness of a jury?
needs to represent the community where the crime occurred
what is impartiality of a jury?
need to be unbiased, only influenced by evidence presented in courts
how many jurors are there in criminal cases and how are decisions made?
12 and 95% unanimous decision
how many jurors are there in civil cases and how are decisions made?
6 and need 5 jurors on the same verdict
what happens if a jury cannot agree?
that jury is dismissed and panel a new jury
what is the CSI effect on jurors?
jurors will be biased from viewing forensic related televisions
what has research shown about the CSI effect?
a pro defence bias (less likely to convict somebody without the presence of sophisticated forensic evidence and jurors demonstrate less confidence in convictition
what is Pretrial Publicity’s effect on jurors?
negative pretrial in the news increases the number of guilty verdicts
what has research shown about pretrial publicity?
studies have shown that mock jurors who were exposed to pretrial publicity were more likely to reach a guilty verdict and have errors in their memory
what are 4 methods to maximize impartiality
- change in venue
- adjournment
- challenge for cause
- publication ban
what is change in venue? (maximizing impartiality)
moving the trial to a different community other than one where the crime occured
what is adjournment (maximizing impartiality)
delaying the trial will eliminate any biases
what is challenge for cause (maximizing impartiality)
potentially reject biased jurors
what is publication ban (maximizing impartiality?
judges can enact a ban on the case evidence until the end of trial, no media source is allowed to report any evidence of the trial
what are 5 jury functions?
- wisdom of 12, not 1
- conscience of the community
- protect against outdated laws
- increase knwoledge about justice system
- apply the law provided by the judge