Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making
When lay jurors are unfamiliar with key evidentiary issues, expert evidence, judicial instructions and group deliberation may enhance their understanding of this evidence. Systematic steps to assess the relationship between juror biases in cases of child sexual abuse are offered as an example to il...
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Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
2015-02-01
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| Series: | Oñati Socio-Legal Series |
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| Online Access: | https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/573 |
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| author | Jane Goodman-Delahunty Natalie Martschuk Anne Cossins |
| author_facet | Jane Goodman-Delahunty Natalie Martschuk Anne Cossins |
| author_sort | Jane Goodman-Delahunty |
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When lay jurors are unfamiliar with key evidentiary issues, expert evidence, judicial instructions and group deliberation may enhance their understanding of this evidence. Systematic steps to assess the relationship between juror biases in cases of child sexual abuse are offered as an example to illustrate a programmatic research approach. Using pretest-posttest research designs, the effectiveness of three traditional legal procedural safeguards to reduce common jury misconceptions in the context of simulated trials were tested and compared. By measuring mock-juror knowledge before and after each intervention, knowledge gains attributable to these interventions were distinguished from practice effects. Unexpected increases in acquittals following deliberation underscored the importance of adding adequate control groups and of testing deliberation effects in jury simulation studies. Benefits of this research paradigm to assist courts, legal counsel and policy makers in devising effective methods to enhance jury decisions in complex criminal cases are discussed.
Cuando los miembros del jurado popular no están familiarizados con los temas probatorios clave, las pruebas periciales, las instrucciones judiciales y la deliberación de grupo pueden mejorar su comprensión de las evidencias. Se ofrecen pasos sistemáticos para evaluar la relación entre sesgos del jurado en casos de abusos a menores como un ejemplo para ilustrar un enfoque de investigación programática. Se probó y comparó la efectividad de tres garantías procesales jurídicas tradicionales para reducir los malentendidos comunes de los jurados en el contexto de juicios simulados, usando patrones de investigación pre y post análisis. Al medir el conocimiento de jurados en juicios simulados antes y después de cada intervención, se distinguían los conocimientos adquiridos atribuibles a estas intervenciones. Un aumento inesperado de absoluciones después de la deliberación ponía de manifiesto la importancia de añadir grupos de control adecuados y analizar los efectos de la deliberación en los estudios de jurados en juicios simulados. Se analizan los beneficios de este paradigma de investigación para ayudar a tribunales, abogados y legisladores en el desarrollo de métodos eficaces para mejorar las decisiones del jurado en casos penales complejos.
DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2786072
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-04558b4565a24c70a9fde52e46598b49 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-5971 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-02-01 |
| publisher | Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Oñati Socio-Legal Series |
| spelling | doaj-art-04558b4565a24c70a9fde52e46598b492024-11-25T15:36:33ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712015-02-0162482Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-MakingJane Goodman-Delahunty0Natalie Martschuk1Anne Cossins2Charles Sturt UniversityCharles Sturt UniversityUniversity of New South Wales When lay jurors are unfamiliar with key evidentiary issues, expert evidence, judicial instructions and group deliberation may enhance their understanding of this evidence. Systematic steps to assess the relationship between juror biases in cases of child sexual abuse are offered as an example to illustrate a programmatic research approach. Using pretest-posttest research designs, the effectiveness of three traditional legal procedural safeguards to reduce common jury misconceptions in the context of simulated trials were tested and compared. By measuring mock-juror knowledge before and after each intervention, knowledge gains attributable to these interventions were distinguished from practice effects. Unexpected increases in acquittals following deliberation underscored the importance of adding adequate control groups and of testing deliberation effects in jury simulation studies. Benefits of this research paradigm to assist courts, legal counsel and policy makers in devising effective methods to enhance jury decisions in complex criminal cases are discussed. Cuando los miembros del jurado popular no están familiarizados con los temas probatorios clave, las pruebas periciales, las instrucciones judiciales y la deliberación de grupo pueden mejorar su comprensión de las evidencias. Se ofrecen pasos sistemáticos para evaluar la relación entre sesgos del jurado en casos de abusos a menores como un ejemplo para ilustrar un enfoque de investigación programática. Se probó y comparó la efectividad de tres garantías procesales jurídicas tradicionales para reducir los malentendidos comunes de los jurados en el contexto de juicios simulados, usando patrones de investigación pre y post análisis. Al medir el conocimiento de jurados en juicios simulados antes y después de cada intervención, se distinguían los conocimientos adquiridos atribuibles a estas intervenciones. Un aumento inesperado de absoluciones después de la deliberación ponía de manifiesto la importancia de añadir grupos de control adecuados y analizar los efectos de la deliberación en los estudios de jurados en juicios simulados. Se analizan los beneficios de este paradigma de investigación para ayudar a tribunales, abogados y legisladores en el desarrollo de métodos eficaces para mejorar las decisiones del jurado en casos penales complejos. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2786072 https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/573child sexual assaultdeliberationexpert evidencejury biaspretest-posttest research designspecialized knowledge |
| spellingShingle | Jane Goodman-Delahunty Natalie Martschuk Anne Cossins Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making Oñati Socio-Legal Series child sexual assault deliberation expert evidence jury bias pretest-posttest research design specialized knowledge |
| title | Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making |
| title_full | Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making |
| title_fullStr | Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making |
| title_short | Using Pretest-Posttest Research Designs to Enhance Jury Decision-Making |
| title_sort | using pretest posttest research designs to enhance jury decision making |
| topic | child sexual assault deliberation expert evidence jury bias pretest-posttest research design specialized knowledge |
| url | https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/573 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT janegoodmandelahunty usingpretestposttestresearchdesignstoenhancejurydecisionmaking AT nataliemartschuk usingpretestposttestresearchdesignstoenhancejurydecisionmaking AT annecossins usingpretestposttestresearchdesignstoenhancejurydecisionmaking |