juries Flashcards

1
Q

So, you’ve been called for jury duty…

A

Types of Cases you may serve on:
◦ Civil – breach of contract or claims of harm (‘suing’) – 6-8 jurors
◦ Verdicts do not have to be unanimous
◦ Criminal – act allegedly committed as per the Criminal Code of Canada – 12 jurors
◦ Both can be heard by judge or jury alone
◦ Most highly serious criminal cases require both a jury and a judge

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2
Q

But first, the selection process

A

The Juries Act: provincial and territorial legislation that outlines eligibility
criteria for jury service
In Ontario, you are excused if:
◦ You are under 18 years old
◦ Physically or mentally unable
◦ Have a conflict of interest
◦ You are working in law
enforcement
◦ You have been convicted of a
criminal offense
◦ You are a judge, lawyer, or law student
◦ You are a member of Senate, House of Commons,
or the Assembly
◦ You are a medical practitioner, vet surgeon, or
coroner

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3
Q

Jury Selection

A

Jury Summons: court order that states
a time and place to go for jury duty
◦ Does not guarantee that you will be a
juror
Lawyers used to be able to reject
potential jurors
◦ Now only judges can remove potential
jurors

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4
Q

Jury Selection needs 2 things

A

Each compiled jury should have:
◦ Representativeness: composition represents the
community in which the crime occurred
◦ Are there enough men, women, young, old, racial
minorities, etc.?
◦ Indigenous representation has been a problem
◦ Impartiality: lack of bias within the jury

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5
Q

Jury Selection: Impartiality

A

To be impartial means to:
1. Set aside pre-existing biases and prejudices
2. Ignore information that is not part of admissible evidence
3. Have no connection to the defendant

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6
Q

Jury Selection: Impartiality R. v. Guess

A

R. v. Guess (1998)
Peter Gill was tried for 2 gang-style
murders in 1995 in Vancouver
Gillian Guess was a juror
Gill and Guess ran into each other
outside of court and started a
sexual relationship
Both charged with obstruction of
justice

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7
Q

Challenge for cause:

A

a request that prospective juror be dismissed due to
specific or forceful reason to believe the person cannot be fair, unbiased, and capable of serving as a juror

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8
Q

The Role of the Media Jury Selection

A

Emotionally charged headlines can sway jury
members
◦ As negative pretrial publicity increases, so does:
◦ The likelihood of guilty verdicts
◦ Beliefs about deserved severity of sentence
◦ Beliefs about the suspect’s maliciousness
◦ Errors in jury members’ memory
◦ Discussions about information from the media within
jury deliberations

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9
Q

Jury Functions (3)

A

Apply the law, as
provided by the
judge, to the
admissible evidence

Use the wisdom of
12 to reach a verdict

Act as a conscience
to the community

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10
Q

Does it matter who is on the jury?

A

Male jurors more likely to endorse rape myths
◦ Assign less responsibility to the accused and more
responsibility to the accuser

Mock jurors more likely to render guilty verdicts for ‘other-race’
defendants than for defendants of their own race
◦ This effect is small and can be reduced by making defendant’s race
salient
◦ May not be as influential for Canadian jurors

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11
Q

Authoritarianism:

A

conservative, rigid thinkers
who acquiesce to authority
◦ Right-wing political views

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12
Q

Dogmatism

A

rigid and closed-minded
◦ No political undertones

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13
Q

Those high in authoritarianism and dogmatism
render more_______ verdicts

A

guilty

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14
Q

Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST)

A

information can be processed
through two modes – rational and experiential

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15
Q

R-processors:

A

rational processing – analysis of fact and logic

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16
Q

E-processors:

A

experiential processing – emotion and personal experience

17
Q

Both E-processors and R-processers convicted _____ defendants at
similar rates

A

attractive

18
Q

E-processors more likely to convict _________ defendants and deliver
harsher sentences

A

less attractive

19
Q

The Role of Mental Illness

A

Competent defendants
are more likely to have
a violent charge when
compared to those who
are unfit to stand trial

Only about 1% of cases
argue the insanity
defence

When given access to
the right program,
offenders’ crimes are
reduced

Sometimes, mental
health facilities are a
better place than prison

20
Q

For criminal guilt to be established, there must exist:

A

◦ Actus reus: a wrongful deed
◦ Mens rea: criminal intent

21
Q

◦ Actus reus:

A

a wrongful deed

22
Q

Mens rea:

A

criminal intent

23
Q

insanity

A

impairment of mental or emotional functioning that affects
perceptions, beliefs, and motivations at the time of the offense
Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD)

24
Q

Rogers Criminal Responsibility
Assessment Scales (R-CRAS)

A

First standardized assessment scales for criminal responsibility

Patient Reliability,Organicity, Psychopathology, Cognitive Control, Behavioral Control

Each scale has 30 items scored between 0 and 6
Do not solely rely on cut-off scores – the clinician will make the final call

25
when does the role of the media get more promment
big crime small town victim is regular person
26
why is it good to have 12 jury
less biases
27
woodstock
couldnt get an unbiased jury bc town was too small so went to a dif town (conscience of the community)
28
how to make race salient in court
have it discussed in court helps ppl realize biases
29
does r or e have more biases
E
30
patient reliability (R_CRAS)
lie, memory, how accurate, degreee to which we understand and beleive
31
organicitity (C-CRAS)
biological effects brain injury, genetic disability, behv, act, function, think intellectucal functining
32
psychopathology (R-CRAS)
psychiatric disorders, any symptoms psychosis, mood, disorganzued thinking, hallucinating
33
cognitive control (C-CRAS)
- awareness of crimincal behv - ability to plan something - functioning during trial
34