Although the jury is often referred to as one of the bulwarks of the American justice system, it regularly comes under attack. Recent changes to trial procedures, such as reducing jury size, allowing non-unanimous verdicts, and rewriting jury instructions in plain English, were designed to promote greater efficiency and adherence to the law. Other changes, such as capping damages and replacing jurors with judges as arbiters in complex trials, seem designed to
restrict the role of laypeople in trial outcomes. Whether these innovations are implemented to facilitate the administration of justice or due to the belief that juries have excessive power and make
irrational decisions, they raise a host of questions about their effects on juries' judgments and about justice. Policymakers sometimes make incorrect assumptions about jury behavior, with the result that some reform efforts have had surprising and unintended consequences.The Jury Under Fire reviews a number of controversial beliefs about juries as well as the implications of these views for jury reform. It reviews up-to-date research on both criminal and civil
juries that uses a variety of research methodologies: simulations, archival analyses, field studies, and juror interviews. Each chapter focuses on a mistaken assumption or myth about jurors or juries, critiques
these myths, and then uses social science research findings to suggest appropriate reforms. Chapters discuss the experience of serving as a juror; jury selection and jury size; and the impact of evidence from eyewitnesses, experts, confessions, and juvenile offenders. The book also covers the process of deciding damages and punishment and the role of emotions in jurors' decision making, and it compares jurors' and judges' decisions. Finally, it reviews a broad range of efforts to reform the
jury, including the most promising reforms that have a solid backing in research. Featuring highly visible trials to illustrate key points, The Jury Under Fire will interest researchers in psychology and
the law, practicing attorneys, and policymakers, as well as students and trainees in these areas.
Although the jury is often referred to as one of the bulwarks of the American justice system, it regularly comes under attack. Recent changes to trial procedures, such as reducing jury size, allowing non-unanimous verdicts, and rewriting jury instructions in plain English, were designed to promote greater efficiency and adherence to the law. Other changes, such as capping damages and replacing jurors with judges as arbiters in complex trials, seem designed to
restrict the role of laypeople in trial outcomes. Whether these innovations are implemented to facilitate the administration of justice or due to the belief that juries have excessive power and make
irrational decisions, they raise a host of questions about their effects on juries' judgments and about justice. Policymakers sometimes make incorrect assumptions about jury behavior, with the result that some reform efforts have had surprising and unintended consequences.The Jury Under Fire reviews a number of controversial beliefs about juries as well as the implications of these views for jury reform. It reviews up-to-date research on both criminal and civil
juries that uses a variety of research methodologies: simulations, archival analyses, field studies, and juror interviews. Each chapter focuses on a mistaken assumption or myth about jurors or juries, critiques
these myths, and then uses social science research findings to suggest appropriate reforms. Chapters discuss the experience of serving as a juror; jury selection and jury size; and the impact of evidence from eyewitnesses, experts, confessions, and juvenile offenders. The book also covers the process of deciding damages and punishment and the role of emotions in jurors' decision making, and it compares jurors' and judges' decisions. Finally, it reviews a broad range of efforts to reform the
jury, including the most promising reforms that have a solid backing in research. Featuring highly visible trials to illustrate key points, The Jury Under Fire will interest researchers in psychology and
the law, practicing attorneys, and policymakers, as well as students and trainees in these areas.
Winner of the 2019 APLS Book Award
Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Avoid Jury Duty at All Costs
Chapter 3. Jury Selection Can Effectively Identify Biased
Jurors
Chapter 4. 6 = 12 and They Don't All Have to Agree
Chapter 5. Jurors Can Distinguish Accurate from Inaccurate
Eyewitnesses
Chapter 6. Jurors Can Distinguish True from False Confessions
Chapter 7. Jurors Overvalue Expert Testimony
Chapter 8. Jurors Treat Juvenile Defendants Fairly
Chapter 9. Compensatory Damage Awards Are Excessive and
Unpredictable
Chapter 10. Punitive Damage Awards Are Excessive and
Unpredictable
Chapter 11. Jurors in Criminal Cases Can Fairly Punish
Wrongdoers
Chapter 12. Jurors Can Control Their Emotions
Chapter 13. Just Let the Judge Do It
Chapter 14. Jurors Don't Need Any Special Help
Chapter 15. Conclusion
References
About the Authors
Index
Brian H. Bornstein, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Courtesy
Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he
serves as Director of the country's oldest Law and Psychology
Program. His research interests include jury decision making, the
reliability of eyewitness memory, and the application of
decision-making principles to everyday judgment tasks.
Edie Greene, PhD, is Professor of Psychology, Director of
Psychological Sciences Training, and Director of the Graduate
Sub-Plan in Psychology and Law at the University of Colorado
Colorado Springs. Her research focuses on legal decision making,
beliefs about the causes and consequences of crime, eyewitness
memory, and psychological issues in elder law.
"Bornstein and Greene debunk more than a dozen popular myths-which
often double as legal assumptions-about juries and how they
function, interweaving descriptions of notable jury trials with
scientific research testing whether these assumptions have merit.
Engaging in style and thoroughly researched, this book is a 'must
read' for anyone with an interest in jury decision making and is
sure to become required reading in any class examining the
jury."--Margaret Bull Kovera, PhD, Presidential Scholar and
Professor of Psychology, John Jay College, City University of New
York
"This book is a welcome addition to the field. The authors use the
most up-to-date findings to critically evaluate several myths about
jury decision making. The chapters are presented in a fair and
unbiased manner, making for an exceptionally clever and
well-thought out book. This book adds something original to the
field and will be a tremendous benefit for social scientists
interested in juries and jury decision making."--Jeffrey Neuschatz,
PhD,
Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, University of
Alabama in Huntsville
"The book skillfully interweaves cogent summaries of legal
principles or important forensic issues, such as the psychology of
eyewitness accuracy or false confession, with research into how
juries grapple with these topics." --PsycCRITIQUES
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