The biasing impact of pretrial publicity on juror judgments

This study examines three previously unexplored aspects of the biasing impact of pretrial publicity. First, this study tests the differential effects of several different types of pretrial publicity on juror decision making. Second, this study explores the impact the presentation of trial evidence has on biases created by pretrial publicity. Finally, the study explores the psychological processes by which pretrial publicity effects may operate. Results indicate that pretrial publicity, particularly negative information about the defendant's character, can influence subjects' initial judgments about a defendant's guilt. This bias is weakened, but not eliminated by the presentation of trial evidence. Character pretrial publicity, and both weak and strong inadmissible statements appear to operate by changing subjects' initial judgments of the defendant's guilt. This initial judgment then affects the way subjects assess the evidence presented in the trial and the attributions they make about the defendant. Prior record pretrial publicity appears to have its effects by influencing subjects' inferences about the criminality of the defendant and this is related to posttrial judgments.     

Biasing effects of pretrial publicity on judicial decisions

In a four-factor design, the effects on judicial decisions of sample (102 students versus 100 nonstudents), sex of subject, pretrial publicity (damaging and relevant versus irrelevant), and judge's instructions (warning to disregard pretrial publicity versus a neutral statement) were examined. Results indicated that sample and judge's instructions had no effects on verdicts, recommendations for sentencing, or ratings of the strength of the prosecution and defenses' cases. Pretrial publicity, however, exerted a strong influence on verdicts and ratings of the prosecution's case, particularly among females. It is suggested that pretrial publicity may serve to affect evaluations of the evidence presented at the trial.     

Media effects on jurors

This article examines the impact on jurors of exposure to media coverage of legal issues. Jurors' decisions may be influenced by a broad range of legally relevant information gleaned from media sources, including newspaper reports, radio and television news, advertising, movies, and televised crime shows and courtroom scenes. The article gives examples of these influences from real-world cases and from simulated research studies. It focuses on the impact of trial-relevant publicity on jurors in cases unrelated to the one being publicized; the ways that media representations of the justice system may influence jurors' expectations and decisions; the influence of insurance company advertisements on jurors' damage awards; and the impact of viewing pornography on jurors' decision making. The paper also explores the psychological processes by which each of these effects may occur and evaluates proposed remedies.I thank Alan Siegel for his comments on an earlier draft.     

The impact of public policy and publicity on admissions to state mental health hospitals

This paper examines the impact of broadened Washington state civil commitment standards on utilization of the state's mental hospitals. Included in the analysis is an assessment of the impact of a public event (a well-publicized murder case) which was in all likelihood a precursor to the law's revision. We also examine the different ways Washington's two state hospitals managed the dramatic increase in civilly committed patients that occurred after the revision took effect. The findings indicate that the murder case, in which the defendant had been denied voluntary admission to a state hospital prior to the killing, resulted in an increase in involuntary admissions in the county where it occurred a full year before the standards were revised. The law itself had the effect of increasing commitments throughout the state, reducing the levels of voluntary admissions, and increasing the likelihood of involuntary admission for individuals previously admitted voluntarily, thus transforming a principally voluntary system into one which was primarily involuntary. Finally, it was found that the increased demand for services mandated by the broadened commitment standards was managed differently in the two state hospitals: one imposed a cap on admissions; the other phased out voluntary admissions at a rate roughly equal to the increase in commitments. These findings illustrate both the substantive impact of broadened civil commitment law and the importance, when assessing the impact of laws, of examining public events and administrative interventions which may have significant causal links with legal interventions.     

Homogeneity of jurors

A dissenting juror faces considerable social pressure from the majority to acept their position. This article postulated that whether the dissenter conforms or not should be dependent, in part, on attributions made about the cause of the majority's behavior. Specifically, it was hypothesized that to the extent the majority jurors are perceived to be independent of one another, their credibility should be high and the dissenter will likely adopt their position. On the other hand, agreement among homogeneous jurors may be attributed to mutual influence or similar personalities and, therefore, discounted as a reliable source of information about the case. Two studies investigated the relationship between both attributions of independence and social influence, and the homogeneity of the jurors attempting influence. Overall, findingsfrom the studies indicate that the manner in which jurors are initially categorized into social groups affects their perceived independence and persuasive impact.This research was supported, in part, by the NIH under grant No. 29807 and by the Rutgers University Research Council. I thank John Carroll and Daniel Perlman for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.     

两大法系行政诉讼审前程序模式比较及对我国的启示——以美国和德国为例

随着我国审判方式改革的推进,行政审判实践中出现了庭前证据交换等审前程序改革的有益探索。但是由于我国行政诉讼审前程序规则的不完善,审前准备工作存在诸多问题,这些问题的存在提示着我国审前准备工作程序化的必要性。本文在比较分析了德国和美国的审前程序后,对我国审前程序模式选择提出了建议。     

A survival model of pretrial failure

This paper examines the likelihood of rearrest during the pretrial period with a model that depends on both time elapsed since release and on individual and case characteristics. Using data on a sample of male arrestees released on recognizance in the District of Columbia in 1984, we apply a survival or hazard model to the problem of predicting pretrial rearrest. We are particularly interested in whether drug use, as measured by urinalysis at arrest, is predictive of pretrial rearrest and its timing. Results show, for example, that drug use or a charge for larceny is associated with high risk levels in the period immediately following release. In our data, the number of prior convictions exerts a strong effect on rearrest risk throughout the pretrial period, but the initial high risk associated with being on probation or parole or having pending charges decreases rapidly over the course of a year at risk.     

The feasibility and utility of pretrial instruction in the substantive law

Jurors are traditionally instructed in the governing law after trial, just prior to deliberation. Several legal scholars have proposed that instructing jurorsprior to trial would better equip them to evaluate the evidence and integrate it with the law. The most controversial aspect of this position is preinstruction in thesubstantive law. Critics warn that substantive preinstruction may impair jurors' performance and that it poses unreasonable administrative problems. This research surveys the opinions of California Superior Court judges on the advantages and disadvantages of substantive preinstruction to understand the reasons that judges either do or do not preinstruct on substantive issues. The most important advantage to emerge was the potential for a substantive precharge to improve jurors' integration of facts and law. The most critical disadvantages were administrative ones: The judge does not know before trial what substantive instructions are appropriate, and the procedure may cause burdensome delays.     

The socialization of jurors the voir dire as a rite of passage

The socialization of jurors, which takes place as a latent function of the voir dire, is described in terms of the distinct experiences that constitute the passage from the status of “ordinary citizen” to membership in the courtroom social setting. Implications of the lack of this voir dire socialization on mock jury research are discussed. Future research on the significance of the juror role and the extent to which the socialization during voir dire helps jurors set aside their normal decision-making rules are also discussed.     

A note on taking account of the automatic death penalty jurors

The California Supreme Court'sHovey opinion identified a separate group of “automatic death penalty” (ADP) persons whose exclusion had been overlooked in previous studies of death qualification. Using data unavailable at the timeHovey was decided, this brief article estimates the effect of excluding this group on the attitudinal skewing and conviction-proneness of death-qualified jurors. It concludes that the impact of excluding the ADPs is negligible.     

认罪认罚从宽制度若干证据问题研究

认罪认罚从宽制度中的证据问题亟待研究和讨论.认罪认罚从宽制度的核心要义应当是及时正当获取"认罪"证据,有效惩治犯罪.被追诉人认罪的自愿性是认罪认罚从宽制度适用的前提,需要相关机制予以保障.我国认罪认罚从宽制度中并未免除控诉机关的控诉证明责任.当前,学界和实务界对认罪认罚从宽制度的证明标准存在不同认识.认罪认罚从宽制度应当坚持常规证明标准,并将"从宽"的量刑证明标准予以完善.我国认罪案件证明模式可以归纳为"以被告人供述为中心的简单(形式)印证模式",认罪认罚案件证明模式改革需要做好"一个强化"和"一个转变"两项工作.     

The effects of defendant dress and supervision on judgments of simulated jurors: An exploratory study

Two studies explored the biasing effect of defendant dress (personal/institutional) and supervision (armed/no supervision) on juror judgments of guilt and recommended sentence using 2×2 between-subjects factorial designs. University students in study 1 and registered voters in study 2 watched a videotape of a reenacted criminal trial, then made judgments of defendant guilt and recommended sentences. Results in both studies revealed significant bias against defendants in personal dress with armed supervision and institutional dress with no supervision. Discussion focuses on the appropriateness of models of attribution and equity in describing subjects' discretionary processes, the nature of an unexpected sympathy effect for the defendant in institutional dress with armed supervision, and the practical implications of the findings. Specific needs for future research in this area are also addressed.Funds for both studies were provided by a Faculty Research Grant from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. The authors wish to thank Edwina Dorch and Devin Powers for their assistance with data collection.     

The effectiveness of judicial instructions on eyewitness evidence in sensitizing jurors to suggestive identification procedures captured on video

Journal of Experimental Criminology - One of the legal safeguards designed to educate jurors about eyewitness evidence is judicial instructions. However, their effectiveness in sensitizing jurors...     

媒体在法制宣传教育中存在的问题及解决对策

随着社会主义法治建设的不断深入,新闻媒体在法制宣传教育中发挥着越来越重要的作用。因此,新闻媒体应重新审视和修正自身存在的问题,提高从业人员的法律素养,摈弃传统宣传报道模式中不顺应法治精神、不符合新时期法制价值取向的报道思路,与时俱进,充分发挥其在社会主义法治社会建设中的“瞭望哨”作用。     

A comparison of three studies of the influence of expert testimony on jurors

Three conceptual replications of the effects of expert testimony on jurors' decisions and behaviors were compared. Taken together, these studies demonstrated significant increases in jurors' scrutiny of the evidence presented to them and significant reductions in their beliefs in the general accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The overall effect of expert testimony had a combined probability ofp=.0000084. This means that these combined results would occur by sampling bias alone less than one time out of 100,000. Expert testimony accounted for 3% of the variance in verdicts and 68% of the variance in the time jurors deliberated about eyewitness testimony. Several implications of these findings for psychologists investigating eyewitness identification and for the criminal justice system are discussed.I would like to thank James V. Devine, Judith P. Goggin, Elizabeth F. Loftus, and Gary L. Wells for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of this article.     

The presence of low IQ and mental retardation among murder defendants referred for pretrial evaluation

After an overview of definitions of mental retardation and recent case law regarding mental retardation and the death penalty, this paper presents a study of factors associated with a mental retardation (MR) diagnosis among murder defendants. Subjects with a full-scale IQ< or =70 (n=42) were compared with other pretrial murder defendants (n=228) referred for forensic evaluation over a 5-year period. Subjects with an IQ< or =70 who were diagnosed with MR were compared with subjects with an IQ< or =70 who did not receive this diagnosis. Female murder defendants were more likely to receive a diagnosis of MR (p=0.03). MR was also more commonly diagnosed in subjects with an Axis I cognitive disorder (p=0.018). Having an IQ< or =70 was more common in subjects with a psychotic and substance use disorder (p=0.03) and did not necessarily lead to a diagnosis of MR in this subgroup. Implications for diagnosing MR among murder defendants are discussed.