Margaret Bull Kovera, “The Psychology of Juries” – eBook

Juries have a tremendous amount of power and responsibility. They determine the outcomes of trials, including whether a defendant is found guilty or not guilty and, in many cases, what the penalty will be. With the authority to deprive citizens of their freedom and potentially their lives, a fair trial requires that juries function as they should—without bias.But do they function this way? Are juries capable of disregarding inadmissible evidence? Can they understand the instructions that they are given by the judge? And if not, what safeguards or changes would help?Research on juries once served as a pillar of psychological scholarship, but publication of such research has slowed considerably in recent years. This volume summarizes what is known about the psychology of juries and makes a strong call to arms for more research.Read more