jury decision making: pre trial publicity Flashcards
what is a jury?
- group of 12 people
- randomly selected from the electual register
- aged 18-75
- consider evidence presented during a trial and decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty
why would a juror be disqualified?
- on probation
- imprisoned
- sentenced to community service
- on bail
describe the process of the jury during a trial
- defence and prosecution present argument to jury
- jurors oath: swear on a holy book or affirm
- tell usher if they have connections to anyone present
- closing speeches
- judge summarises
- discussion
- clerk asks foreperson to deliver verdict
what is a mock jury?
- group of ppts made to consider a case and make judgements about it
- staged trial
- researchers may observe through 1 way mirror
what are some strengths of using a mock jury?
- standardised procedures
- 1 way mirror reduces DCs
- application to improve real life juries
- random selection
- controlled environment
what are some weaknesses of using a mock jury?
- lacks mundane realism
- shortened, in real life it could take weeks and are more complex
- mock jurors may not act the same as a real jury
what is a shadow jury?
- group of people hired by a trial consultant to watch trials and report impressions of evidence
- asked to make a verdict
- but no influence over real trial
what are some strengths of using a shadow jury?
- real case and evidence so high ecological validity
- not same physiological stress so good ethics
what are some weaknesses of using a shadow jury?
- no influence on final verdict so not same pressure, reduces validity
- lacks control over EVs so hard to establish cause and effect
- hard to obtain representative jury so low generalisability
what is pre trial publicity?
- media/other coverage of a case before the trial takes place
- assumed that jury members will have read or heard about a high publicity case
- may cause them to be prejudiced
what information may PTP include?
- facts about crime
- details of defendant’s past offences
- emotional opinions
when may PTP cause jurors to be more conviction prone?
when the publicity is designed to elicit an emotional response
what is a gagging order?
the refrain of disclosing certain information to the public/press
how might PTP affect a juror’s decision making in relation to memory?
- gives misinformation that can be incorporated into the trial’s evidence
- juror mixes up information read in media with information in trial due to reconstructive memory
- negative impact on verdict if portrayed negatively
what is rationalisation in terms of PTP?
jury forgets information that does not conform to a positive or negative schema