The impact of pretrial publicity on jurors

Previous research on how jurors are prejudiced by pretrial publicity (PTP) has focused on the impact of print media (i.e., newspapers). However, in this “television age”, we are exposed to compelling and vivid images of crimes and cases. This raises the question of whether potential jurors may be more influenced by television media (e.g., news programs or televised hearings) then print media (e.g., newspaper and magazine articles). Using an actual case involving extensive PTP, the present study varied the type of medium (print articles, video, articles+video) presented to potential jurors. The results indicated that exposure to the various media had a prejudicial impact on people, and that they were unaware of their biases. As hypothesized, television exposure and television plus print articles biased potential jurors significantly more than exposure to print media alone.     

论司法鉴定社会化的规范--从自行委托鉴定现状角度

随着2005年2月28日第十届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第十四次会议通过的《关于司法鉴定管理问题的决定》的颁布和实施，司法鉴定将朝着社会化的方向进行改革。司法鉴定的社会化必将加剧鉴定机构经济利益和社会公信力之间的冲突。自行委托鉴定作为司法鉴定社会化的重要组成部分，必将大幅度上升。如何保证鉴定质量，法官如何审查鉴定结论，值得关注。通过调查发现．当前自行委托鉴定存在的问题不容乐观。主要有鉴定程序不规范，鉴定随意性大，鉴定结论采信的少，重新鉴定的多，     

论司法鉴定社会化的规范--从自行委托鉴定现状角度

随着2005年2月28日第十届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第十四次会议通过的《关于司法鉴定管理问题的决定》的颁布和实施,司法鉴定将朝着社会化的方向进行改革。司法鉴定的社会化必将加剧鉴定机构经济利益和社会公信力之间的冲突。自行委托鉴定作为司法鉴定社会化的重要组成部分,必将大幅度上升。如何保证鉴定质量,法官如何审查鉴定结论,值得关注。通过调查发现,当前自行委托鉴定存在的问题不容乐观,主要有鉴定程序不规范,鉴定随意性大,鉴定结论采信的少,重新鉴定的多,有违设置自行委托鉴定、司法鉴定社会化制度的初衷。笔者试想通过分析自行…     

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.     

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 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.     

Reactions of potential jurors to a hypothetical malpractice suit: alleging failure to perform a prostate-specific antigen test

We conducted focus groups with 47 potential jurors who were presented with different scenarios in a hypothetical malpractice case involving failure to order a PSA test. Better documentation that a patient made an informed decision to decline a PSA test appeared to provide more medical-legal protection for physicians, especially with the use of a decision aid.     

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...     

论环境责任保险制度——兼论环境损害赔偿的社会化机制

环境责任保险制度是一种最早适用西方国家的特殊保险制度。它可以分散风险,使企业避免因污染损害事故而遭受重大损失;有助于环境污染受害人获得及时和充分的赔偿;同时也可以通过保险公司对企业的排污行为进行监督管理。文章总结了西方国家实行的环境责任保险模式,分析了该制度面临的主要问题,并指出环境责任保险制度和环境损害赔偿法以及环境损害救济基金共同构成了环境损害赔偿社会化机制的完整体系。     

Moving beyond the socialization hypothesis: The effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the development of self-control

Purpose

Gottfredson and Hirschi, in A General Theory of Crime, argue that the primary source of self-control is parental socialization. Specifically, parents who fail to supervise their children, to recognize their child's deviant behavior, and to punish such behavior are more likely to raise children with lower levels of self-control. Recent empirical research, however, has broadened the explanatory factors to include sources within schools, neighborhoods, and individual factors as significant contributors to the development of self-control. This study proposes that maternal smoking during pregnancy places additional limits on the development of self-control.

Methods

Using a subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (N = 542), we provide a comprehensive investigation of the variety of sources of self-control to include both individual and environmental covariates.

Results

Results indicate that maternal smoking during pregnancy significantly impacts the development of self-control net of parental, neighborhood, and school socialization. We also found that individual sources of self-control significantly vary across race and neighborhood context.

Conclusions

The sources of self-control are more complex than socialization from parents, schools, and within neighborhoods occurring in childhood and adolescence.     

新时期我国政治社会化路径探究

当代中国正处于社会转型期,社会结构和利益关系正经历着前所未有的变化,政治社会化面临内地传统文化和外来异质意识形态的双重挑战.只有在明晰政治社会化概念的基础上,以先进的政治文化来拓展政治社会化内容;优化政治社会化环境,才能确保我国政治社会的稳定和发展,提高我党的政治社会化水平.     

Justice as solidarity: A study of the political socialization of adolescents from East and West Germany within the theoretical framework of Durkheim's sociology of morality

The contemporary transformations in western societies confront us with a problem already stated by Durkheim a century ago: What enables members of society to practice social solidarity while becoming increasingly more individualistic? This question is analyzed in view of the political socialization of adolescents and its developmental implications. In line with the Durkheimian tradition in developmental psychology established by Piaget and elaborated by Kohlberg, it is claimed that the development of moral autonomy gives rise to a justice-related sense of responsibility that may foster bonds of solidarity within society. This developmental model was tested against the impact of socialization variables in a sample of East and West Germany adolescents, aged 15 and 18 (N=348). Analyses of the data revealed a substantial relationship between the development of moral autonomy and the readiness to take responsibility for others in response to justice concerns. The impact of the development of moral autonomy on the formation of a justice-related sense of responsibility depended only minimally on background indicators of political socialization in adolescence (e.g., East or West German origin, the socioeconomic status of parents). In the context of current social conditions a developmental approach to political socialization appears crucial to explain the emergence of justice concerns giving rise to solidarity.