Instructing the Jury (From Jury - Proceedings of Seminar on The Jury, 20-22 May 1986, P 171-179, 1986, Dennis Challinger, ed. - See NCJ-103890)

• NCJ Number: 103899
• Author(s): I Potas
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This paper discusses the importance of courts' acting to enhance juries' abilities to render just decisions, particularly in complex cases, by clarifying jury instructions and reports on an Australian study that measured the impact of jury instructions on jury decisionmaking.

Abstract

There is no evidence that juries cannot cope with complicated trials or perform their intended function when the courts enhance their decisionmaking abilities. An important step is to devise jury instructions that communicate legal concepts in lay language. Research tested the effectiveness of jury instructions drafted by a New South Wales committee of senior judges. A fictitious case, incorporating a broad selection of the drafted jury instructions, was presented to a group of 128 undergraduate college students and 15 graduate students. A control group of 24 subjects read the case facts but were given no jury instructions. The control group did not differ significantly from the experimental groups on any of the measures of understanding, comprehension, or applicability. The control group was less severe in individual verdicts, however. Research must continue to test effectiveness of various drafts of jury instructions in enhancing jury decisionmaking. 7 references.