Jury Research

Question 1

Are lawyers good at choosing favourable jurors based solely on demographics?

Answer 1

NO

Question 2

Define scientific jury selection

Answer 2

Rejecting prospective jurors unsympathetic to one’s case and selecting sympathetic ones based on predetermined characteristics

Question 3

Define the broad-based approach to jury selection

Answer 3

Presumption that there are certain traits or attitudes, pretty general stuff, that make people more likely to be pro-defence/pro-prosecution

Question 4

Define the case specific approach to jury selection

Answer 4

a. Build a questionare based on case
b. Distribute to community from which the jurors are selected
c. Look at correlations, try to establish profile of ideal juror

Question 5

What type of scientific jury selection approach is used by consulting firms?

Answer 5

Case-specific approach

Question 6

Define juror behaviour research

Answer 6

Goal is to predict the verdict and identify which variables affect the outcome of the verdict

Question 7

What are the four types of juror behaviour research techniques?

Answer 7

1. Post-trial interviews
2. Archival research
3. Simulations
4. Field studies

Question 8

Define post-trial interviews

Answer 8

1. Asking the jurors how they reached the verdict that they arrived upon

Question 9

Define archival research in the context of juror behaviour research

Answer 9

1. Reviewing records of trials and police interviews of witnesses
2. Make sense of why the verdict was reached
3. Very low on internal validity

Question 10

Define simulations in the context of juror behaviour research

Answer 10

1. Make trials to study the effect of independent variables

Question 11

Define field studies

Answer 11

1. Questioning and assessing jurors as they go through jury duty

Question 12

What two types of juror behaviour research are not allowed in Canada?

Answer 12

Post-trial interviews and Field studies

Question 13

What is the black sheep effect?

Answer 13

Defendants ethnicity will interact with the jurors ethnicity.
When similarity is high between them and evidence is strong, usually harsher verdict (you are like me, but I’m distancing myself from you cause you a black sheep)

Question 14

What two personality traits are associated with pro-persecution bias?

Answer 14

Authoritarianism and dogmatism

Question 15

When a defendant is attractive, how does it relate to the outcome, if crime is unrelated to beauty?

Answer 15

A more lenient sentence will be given

Question 16

How does deliberation impact the verdict of someone who is attractive?

Answer 16

If deliberation occurs, the jury will deal a harsher judgment

Question 17

When can sexual abuse history be made admissable, and who does it benefit

Answer 17

1. In cases of mistaken consent

2. Helps the defendant

Question 18

How do race and gender affect impact of expert witness testimony

Answer 18

A black woman is most compelling.

Question 19

In cases of Battered Person Syndrome, what is the most favourable gender of the expert witness for the defendant?

Answer 19

A woman if the defendant is a woman

Question 20

If a defendant is attractive and the crime is attractiveness related, he/she is less likely to receive a harsh sentence.

Answer 20

False. More likely to receive a harsh sentence.

Question 21

According to Patry(2008) “less” attractive defendants are more likely to be judged guilty when there is deliberation.

Answer 21

False.

Question 22

According to Patry(2008) “less” attractive defendants are more likely to be judged guilty when there isn’t deliberation.

Answer 22

True

Question 23

What are the 6 variables identified as having a relation to the verdict?

Answer 23

1. Demographic variables
2. Personality traits
3. Attitudes
4. Defendant characteristics
5. Victim characteristics
6. Expert testimony

Question 24

How does demographic variables impact jury verdicts?

Answer 24

Defendants and jurors ethnicity show the strongest correlation and can lead to more guilty or more acquittal verdict.

1. When similarity is high between them and evidence is strong, usually harsher verdict.
2. When similarity is high between them and evidence is weak leads to lenient verdict.
3. When no similarity between them and evidence is weak, the juror is more likely to find the defendant guilty

Question 25

How does attitude impact jury verdicts?

Answer 25

They vary from case to case. Eg: Those who are strongly for capital punishment are more likely to be pro-prosecutio in general.

Question 26

How does defendant characteristics impact jury verdicts?

Answer 26

i) Physical attractiveness and the nature of the crime lead to diff verdicts.
ii) Physical attractiveness and whether or not there was deliberation lead to diff verdicts

Question 27

How does victim characteristics impact jury verdicts?

Answer 27

According to Shuller & Hastings (2002) sexual history of the victim lead to the jury to find the victim less credible, blame-worthy and having consented

Question 28

How does expert testimony impact jury verdicts?

Answer 28

The content of the testimony and expert evidence interacts with the ethnicity and gender of the expert witness.