Abstract
The jury is one of the most widely studied areas within the psycholegal discipline. Dating from the time of Hugo Munsterberg in 1908, when he provided one of the first critical reflections on the jury in his book On the Witness Stand, the sheer volume of jury research produced in the USA and around the world has provided great insight into the means by which jurors make decisions. Researchers have conducted studies on such diverse topics as jurors’ use of inadmissible evidence (Cook, Arndt, & Lieberman, 2004; Kassin & Sommers, 1997; London & Nunez, 2000), the influence of complex trial testimony (Horowitz, ForsterLee, & Brolly, 1996; Worthington, Stallard, Price, & Goss, 2002), the impact of expert witnesses on jury verdicts (Cooper, Bennett, & Sukel, 1996; Kovera, McAuliff, & Hebert, 1999; Shuller, Terry, & McKimmie, 2005), and the role that victims play in swaying jury sentiments (ForsterLee, Fox, ForsterLee, & Ho, 2004; Myers & Greene, 2004), to name but a few research areas. Devine, Clayton, Dunford, Seying, and Pryce (2001) recently reviewed 206 distinguishable psycholegal studies that focused solely on deliberating mock jurors, covering areas like jury nullification, “juror-friendly” instructions, decision rules (whether jurors are allowed to reach a verdict without a group consensus), trial structure variations, and jury members’ personality traits, attitudes, and prior experiences. Although this chapter cannot possibly delve into all of the research devoted to the jury, we would like to highlight some of the useful knowledge gathered during the course of psycholegal research that has a direct bearing on trial consulting.
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Winter, R.J., Robicheaux, T. (2011). Questions About the Jury: What Trial Consultants Should Know About Jury Decision Making. In: Wiener, R., Bornstein, B. (eds) Handbook of Trial Consulting. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7569-0_4
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