Jury Decisions Flashcards by Maya Haidari

Jury =…

“tiers of fact”

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6th amendment

Public trial by an impartial jury

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7th amendment

Civil lawsuits

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U.S. = __% of all jury trials in the world

90%

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Bench trial do not involve what?

A judge

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Criminal involves p__________ and g_____

prosecution and guilt

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Civil involved p________ and d______

plaintiff and damages

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History: trial by ordeal

how they reacted
Was ‘evidence’ of God’s pleasure or displeasure and that was taken as the verdict

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History: trial by combat

declined in popularity because the Church withdrew the priests as referees

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Trial by Jury: Origins

Juries were originally self-informing
They were the witnesses and did their own investigation
Only later did juries become an impartial body

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Modern Juries - Venire

“to make appear”
Prospective jurors summoned
“Pool” of qualified persons

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Who is considered a qualified person for a trial jury

English speaking, 19 ad over, no felonies, resident, etc.

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Modern Juries - Voire dire

“speak the truth”
Questioning by lawyers, judge in court
Jury “selection” (actually eliminating jurors)

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Voire dire - adversairal

attempt to create favorable bias

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What are the types of challenges lawyers can make in Voire dire?

For cause - obvious reason why someone has conflict of interest or bias
Peremptory - “at my will/at my please” –> can challenge someone without needing to explain why

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How many peremptory challenges can lawyers make?

Between 3 and 25
More for defense than prosecution

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What are limits on challenges in Voire dire?

Can’t intentionally exclude on basis of race, gender, religion, income (cognizable groups)
Don’t want to deem intentionally discriminatory (illegal)

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What is scientific jury selection?

Prediction of verdicts, based on:
Attitudes
Personality
Demographics

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What are sources of information for scientific jury selection?

o Answers to voir dire questions, jury questionnaires
o Behavior during voir dire (Expressions, gestures)
o Observable traits (gender, age, health, dress, etc.)
o Social media, online data

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scientific jury selection - Harrisburg Seven case (1972)

Trial of Vietnam war protesters
Tried in Harrisburg because polls showed 80% rate of conviction
Defense psychologists surveyed 840 residents: correlated demographic with attitudes
Government tried to have trial moved to different location
Outcome: hung jury, no re-trial
Phillip Berrigan

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General Attitudes: Juror Bias Scale
What does it measure?
What kind of bias can be evaluated from this?

Measures pre-existing attitudes about:
Probability of commission
Reasonable doubt
Pro-posecution bias OR pro-defense bias (criminal)

Who created the Juror Bias Scale?

Saul Kassin

What are the vote to convict based on JBS scores?
Pro-defense score: __%
Pro-prosecution score:__%

Pro-defense score: 52%
Pro-prosecution score: 81%

What are stealth jurors?

Jurors who may hide biases during voir dire
Alterior motives

What is a major issue with stealth jurors?

"death qualification" --> ask every juror, could you find it in yourselves to vote for the death penalty?

What evidence influences jury?

o Confessions o Eyewitnesses (confidence, number) o Expert testimony o Physical (medical, DNA, ballistics, trace evidence, etc.)

What forms of research is conducted on juries?

 Actual trial records  Post-trial interviews  Mock juries  Shadow juries --> specifically constructed to mirror a real-world jury

What is the CSI effect?

jurors expect great forensic evidence in the trial, and if they don’t, they think something is wrong

How is evidence processed? (3)

Story model Simulation heuristic Inadmissible evidence

How is evidence processed - simulation heuristic

Jurors more likely to believe argument if the can easily imagine it (mentally simulate events)

Pre-Trial Publicity is often...

based on press releases, information from police, DA Contains information not admissible in court

What is an issue with pre-trial publicity?

Source monitoring errors - "Sleeper effect"

What is the "sleeper effect"

We don't remember where we learnt the information from

Exposure can bias jurors towards presumption of _____

guilt

Do we recognize or admit our bias?

No People who believe there’s “a lot of evidence against” a defendant before trial are more likely claim they can be “impartial” and “fair”

What can be done with issue of pre-trial publicity? (5)

Gag order (participants, media) Change of venue Attempt to remove biased jurors in voir dire Delay of trial --> waiting for hype to calm down Survey research for attitudes

Defendant behavior __% of jurors report reacting to defendant's ________ (facial expressions, body language, eye contact, etc.)

70% demeanor

What case is are 2 examples of defendant's behavior

Scott Peterson (2002) Nikolas Cruz sentencing (no eye contact)

"Extralegal" Evidence

Not supposed to be part of the trial, not something the jury should be paying attention

Appearance "_________" evidence USSC: 1st Amendment right to control own appearance, unless... Ex:

"Character" evidence USSC: 1st Amendment right to control own appearance, unless goals is to deceive jury Ex: prison jumpsuit, tattoos, nonprescription eyeglasses

Attractive defendants are less likely to...

be thought guilty, given lower bail or fines shorter sentences EXCEPT if perceived to be using attractiveness for illegal gain or manipulation

Group conformity Initial vote: __% __% of juries begin with big majority eventually end with that verdict

30% 90%

Group conformity - unanimous: Ex:

1 person can deadlock/hang (6% of trials) Ex: The "Allen charge" --> charged with murdering 18y/o --> jury couldn't come up with unanimous verdict after 3 attempts

With a majority, a hung jury is less likely but...

shorter deliberations Jurors report less satisfaction

Civil cases: torts

Wronged person (plaintiff) sues for damages

Damages in civil cases include:

o Physical harm o Economic harm o Mental/emotional harm (“pain & suffering”)

What are the 2 different types of damages in civil cases:

Compensatory damages Punitive damages

Civil Cases: Torts - Example

OJ Simpson, wrongful death

Civil cases: damages are based on:

Intent Degree of Responsibility (can be a percentage)

What is assumption of risk?

You take on some of the responsibility because you knew there was a hazard

Tort Reform - "Litigation explosion" case example

Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants (1994) Award of $2.9 million dollars