NCJ Number
147494
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 177-186
Date Published
1993
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Recent research indicates that jurors may experience elevated levels of stress as a result of their jury duty, with possible ill consequences for the physical and mental health of the jurors as well as the integrity of the judicial process.
Abstract
Juror stress is most frequently reported in trials involving unusually high levels of violence, particularly those that require jurors to examine graphic evidence and to listen to testimony that recreates the violent acts. One aspect of the stress reported by jurors in these cases can be described as secondary trauma. Some experts have begun to develop and test instruments designed to measure the level of juror stress. It appears that jurors and their alternates are willing to complete survey instruments, as long as their length is kept to a minimum, and to participate in efforts to study and redress the stress they may have experienced. Data should probably be obtained in a manner that does not require jurors to remain at the courthouse immediately following completion of their jury duty. Jury deliberations may provide one outlet in which jurors can work through the stress they have undergone during the trial. Identifying the variables that contribute to or exacerbate juror stress should be an area for future research. 38 references