Some Psychological Aspects Relevant to the Jury (From Jury Proceedings of Seminar on the Jury, 20-22 May 1986, P 101-118, Dennis Challinger, ed. - See NCJ-103890)

• NCJ Number: 103895
• Author(s): P W Sheehan
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This article reviews the major factors and underlying dynamics that increase the likelihood of error in jurors' decisionmaking.

Abstract

Regarding biases derived from jury selection, research indicates that jurors with previous jury experience and those willing to impose capital punishment are more likely to convict than nonexperienced jurors and those against the death penalty. Juror decisionmaking is also strongly affected by jurors' reactions to the defendant's appearance, background, criminal history, and the nature of the crime. The structure of the questioning process and procedures of memory testing have major consequences for jurors' perceptions and judgments. A process responsible for biasing influences on jurors is the tendency to believe witnesses' testimony, particularly when it is presented with confidence. Underlying this tendency is jurors' general ignorance of scientific studies of the memory process and its inherent flaws as well as the high potential for error in eyewitness identifications. Some means of increasing the validity of jurors' decisions are cautionary instructions to the jury about the risks of suggestion and the possibilities for distortion in perception and memory as well as the introduction of expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness identifications. 35 references.