NCJ Number
110843
Date Published
1987
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Twenty-six mock-jury deliberations were studied, revealing three subgroups of participants within each jury: leaders, supporting actors, and place holders.
Abstract
Each jury was scored three times according to: (1) whether the jury deliberating as a unit or in factions; (2) whether jurors were seeking truth or seeking to prevail: and (3) whether the outcome of the case corresponded to the legally correct verdict. Scores were averaged to yield a 'quality of deliberation' score. After grouping the deliberations according to whether the quality was high, medium or low, the number of jurors in each subgroup of leaders, supporting actors, and place holders varied with the quality of the deliberations. Juries in which the quality of the deliberation was high were composed of many supporting actors and few leaders or place holders, while low quality deliberations occurred in juries in which there were as many leaders and place holders as supporting actors. Also varying with the quality of the deliberation was the foreman selection process. Results indicated that low quality deliberations had predominantly leader-centered foreman selection processes, while high quality deliberations had predominantly group-centered selection processes. Tables. (Author abstract modified)