legal and juror decision making Flashcards
county court
no jury, tries only civil cases
magistrates court
3 magistrates, no jury, tries summary offences. Passes most indictable offences to crown court
crown court
Judge and 12 Jury members, tries indictable offences and appeals magistrate verdicts
bench trial
Judge only. Permissible under the criminal justice act of 2003 for “real and present” danger of jury tampering
Describe an adversarial legal system
comprises of prosecution and defence
impartial judge, passive adjudicator who decides on points of law and sentencing
prosecution heard first burden of proof on the accuser
judge or jury attempts to make a finding of fact based upon evidence
Describe an inquisitorial legal system
no jury except in major cases,
lay assessors collect evidence for and against the defendant
Explain the role of a judge
- pre-trial decisions
- determine admissibility of evidence
- supervises jury selection
- directs jury
- in charge of court proceedings
- sums up the evidence at the end before the trial
- determines the sentence of the defendant if found guilty
As per the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2017)
what is the criteria that must be met to determine mental competency
the ability to understand that jurors may be challenged
the ability to comprehend the details of the evidence
the ability to understand the implication of the charges
the ability to instruct lawyers effectively
Describe the difference between Actus Reus and Mens Rea
Actus Rea- the guilty act
Mens Rea- the guilty mind
intent must be present
N.G.R.I
not guilty by reason of insanity
explain mentally disordered offender
the CPs uses the term mentally disordered offender
A mental disorder may be relevant to: The decision to prosecute or divert; Fitness to plead; and Sentencing/Disposal. Defendant may be compulsory detained in a secure hospital to determine their mental fitness to stand trial. See
explain diminished responsibility
defence used in murder cases:
requires proof of substantially impaired mental responsibility
if guilty- convicted of man slaughter
jury decision making process
how do psychologists gather evidence
post deliberation interviews or surveys of real jurors
not possible to manipulate variables
mock jury
ability to manipulate experimental variables
Explain the psychology of individual decision making
Devine 2001- jurors don’t make decisions in the manner expected by the courts
What do jurors base their decisions on
their past experience (scripts and Schemas)
their stereotypes
their personal beliefs and values
Explain the story model
Pennington 1991
jurors evaluate conflicting information and construct a story that provides a plausible explanation of evidence
by filtering information through their experiences
they often include evidence that was only inferred
therefore influence of schemas cognitive heuristics and emotions
Give examples of stereotypes in juror decision making
attractive men were considered less likely to have committed murder and armed robbery Saladin 1998
attractive people viewed more sympathetically by judges when found guilty Wuensch 1991
jury more lenient towards their own religion Kerr 1995
white jurors more likely to find a black defendant guilty than black jurors Abshire 2003
Explain attribution theory
jurors make decisions about why people do things
Heider, 1958
people explain the behaviour of others in terms of disposition and explain their own behaviour in terms of situational factors
explain the fundamental attribution error
Russ- jurors overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors
explain just world theory
the extent to which people see the world as a just and fair place
pollard 1992
females make more pro-victim judgements than males
the more provocatively dressed and the more sexual partners the victim has had the less sympathy they recieve
Explain each stage of the juror decision making process
- orientation period relaxed discussion, exploration of facts
- open confrontation, debate focus on details interpretation of facts, pressure to conform
- reconciliation, smooth conflict with humour
explain the differences between informational and normative conformity
Asch
informational- individual conform because they don’t know what to do and look to the group for guidance
normative- individuals outwardly conform to avoid rejection, inwardly disagree
Myers 2001
90% of cases the position of the majority prior to discussion becomes the verdict
Explain group polarisation
Hastie showed a Murder trial to 69 mock witnesses is the length of the discussion only strengthened the peoples preferences
McConville
Judges had serious doubts about the verdict in 36% of cases that were acquitted
Greene
Though there is room for improvement research shows that juries do a reasonable job of weighing evidence and applying the law
groupthink
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
