Psychology of the Courtroom Works Cited Missing 'While the jury can contribute nothing of value so far as the law is concerned, it has infinite capacity for mischief, for twelve men (sic) can easily misunderstand more law in a minute than the judge can explain in an hour.' Judge Jerome Frank (USA) 1948. Juries listen to evidence sometimes over considerable period of time without having a legal context in which to place it. By the time and explanation of its legal relevance is provided - when the judge gives the final summing up - the evidence has all been heard and must be recalled to mind and fitted within the legal framework. It is scarcely surprising, therefore, to find that if a judicial summing up simultaneously reminds jurors of some evidence they heard but instructs them to disregard it, the admonishment appears to be counter productive (Hastie et al 1983). Studies of juror comprehension of legal instructions have produced conflicting results. In a study by Heuer and Penrod (1995) who questioned jurors who had participated in real trials, the jurors became less confident that the verdict complied with judicial instructions as the quantity of information increased. However, they were still content with the fairness of the proceedings, although they were more confident of that where they were able to question witnesses. Work of Prosecution and Defence Lawyers Lawyers will attempt to use psychological techniques to support the jury accepting their case. Frederick (1990) has detailed some of the ... ... middle of paper ... ...iewers. Thus who the researcher is and where the study takes place may have more of an effect on child Ps than we may suspect. Again these factors reduce both the reliability and the validity of studies which use children as Ps. Point 3: Ethical Concerns Children can not give informed consent so their parent(s)/gaurdians need to, but even then are they aware of what may upset their child? Children are also more vulnerable due to their status as minors. Thus they are more vunerable to potential harm and may not understand their right to withdraw, indeed they may be so intimidated by the authority of the researcher that they would never ask to leave. All of these are very important considerations due to the often controversial and potentially anxiety provoking settings and issues that this area is concerned with.
The movie Runaway Jury starts with a shooting in a business office. The movie then continues to people receiving jury summons and people taking pictures of them. It goes on to show Rankin Fitch and the defense committing electronic surveillance during the jury selections. This movie shows how Fitch and the defense attempt to influence the jury to vote for the defense. The movie continuously shows a person by the name of “Marlee” who talks to Fitch and Rohr trying to persuade them to pay her in order for the jury to be “swayed” their way. “Marlee” is Nick Easter’s girlfriend. As the movie progresses, the viewer realizes that Nick was pretended to get avoid jury duty in order to secure a spot in the jury. The movie ends with the jury voting against the gun company and then Nick and “Marlee” blackmailing Fitch with a receipt for $15 million and they demand that he retire immediately. They inform him that the $15 million will benefit the shooting victims in the town of Gardner.
Psychological research shows that eyewitness testimony is not always accurate, therefore it should not be used in the criminal justice system. Discuss.
While this study did not produce the result we wanted, we believe that we could use the information learned from this study and develop a study that would be more effective.
The New York Times bestseller book titled Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case examines the O.J. Simpson criminal trial of the mid-1990s. The author, Alan M. Dershowitz, relates the Simpson case to the broad functions and perspectives of the American criminal justice system as a whole. A Harvard law school teacher at the time and one of the most renowned legal minds in the country, Dershowitz served as one of O.J. Simpson’s twelve defense lawyers during the trial. Dershowitz utilizes the Simpson case to illustrate how today’s criminal justice system operates and relates it to the misperceptions of the public. Many outside spectators of the case firmly believed that Simpson committed the crimes for which he was charged for. Therefore, much of the public was simply dumbfounded when Simpson was acquitted. Dershowitz attempts to explain why the jury acquitted Simpson by examining the entire American criminal justice system as a whole.
The media’s influence over the masses of society is great. With every passing generation, the media’s ability to access and relay information to the general public with seemingly the greatest of ease continues to impress. Given the expanse of time that has passed since the 1990s, the media, even more-so to this day, shapes our lives, our perceptions, and influences our opinions greatly. The 1990s served an important decade in our country’s young history. Since the mid-1800s, and even before that time, our country has experienced its share of societal issues, from racism to sexism, to religious bigotry, and police brutality, to name a few. In 1994 a very high-profile case was introduced to the American public, as former NFL star Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson was charged in the double-homicide of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend and alleged lover, Ronald Goldman (Neuendorf, 2000).
A crime being committed is the first event to initiate our criminal justice system. On June 12th 1994 a double murder was reported at the residence of Nicole Brown Simpson the ex-wife of the then beloved Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson. It was discovered that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman had been brutally murdered and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) began their investigation, this being the second step in our criminal justice system.
The reason for these reactions is due to the fact that jurors are all influenced by different decision making abilities. These abilities can be shaped by varying emotional reactions to case information, jurors intelligence, their abilities to retain certain information, and of course their own personal and cultural views. As a result, jurors establish different perceptions and opinions despite all the jurors being given the same information. The procedure of applying a juror’s perception of certain views on life and how those views apply to the facts and information being presented to them in the case are the main forces behind each juror’s individual conclusions on the case. Jurors seem to rarely alter their opinions on how they feel about a certain case, but they may change their minds on how things should have been presented to them. This can be observed in the participation and comments of the jurors in this certain case.
Throughout history there have always been issues concerning judicial courts and proceedings: issues that include everything from the new democracy of Athens, Greece, to the controversial verdict in the Casey Anthony trial as well as the Trayvon Martin trial. One of the more recent and ever changing issues revolves around cameras being allowed and used inside courtrooms. It was stated in the Handbook of Court Administration and Management by Stephen W. Hays and Cole Blease Graham, Jr. that “the question of whether or not to allow cameras in American courtrooms has been debated for nearly fifty years by scholars, media representatives, concerned citizens, and others involved in the criminal justice system.” The negatives that can be attached to the presence of cameras inside a courtroom are just as present, if not more present, than the positives that go hand-in-hand with the presence of cameras.
...even years parents must give informed consent as the child may not have the cognitive ability to understand what is being asked of them’ Institute of Medicine (2004 cited in Keenen and Evans, 2010:78). There are also incentives for the child which should be fair and not excessive. The idea of deception means that certain studies may require the researcher to hold back certain information however the researcher must show that such deception is necessary and justifiable. An important ethic is confidentiality where records of research should be kept in such a way to ensure participant confidentiality. However if some information reveals the child’s welfare is at risk then parents should be informed. Finally there is dissemination in early years practice the child is often too young to understand research findings so a summary should be given to the child’s parents.
USAID FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. (2005). Model Court Initiative Court Administration Reform Intervention Plan Annex 3.5 - Case Backlog Reduction/Purging Plans . Retrieved from http://www.usaidjsdp.ba/old_page/en/dokumenti/3%20Intervention%20Plan/Annex%203.5%20-%20Case%20Backlog%20Reduction%20Purging%20Plans.pdf
The media plays a big role in shaping the people’s perceptions about the court system. Without media we would remain uneducated to the occurrences outside our social groups. Media and especially news coverage provide us with important point of contact with the rest of society. In debunking popular myths about our court system we will look at the “facts” (the truth, the actual event, a real thing). With a myth being based upon “exaggeration” or heightening of “ordinary” event in life. Myths become a convenient mortar to fill gaps in knowledge and to provide answers to questions social science either cannot answer or has failed to address. Myths tend to provide the necessary information for the construction
The criminal trial process is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society to a great extent. For the law to be effective, the criminal trial process must reflect what is accepted by society to be a breach of moral and ethical conduct and the extent to which protections are granted to the victims, the offenders and the community. For these reasons, the criminal trial process is effectively able to achieve this in the areas of the adversary system, the system of appeals, legal aid and the jury system.
To start examining these long-term affects, this article suggests that a committee be brought together with professionals of many different areas who work with the child and have observed their growth. Research should span across the child’s physical, mental, and behavioral health areas. Having professionals from many different disciplines allows for a wider expanse of knowledge of the development of a particular child. That child’s Pediatrician will be able to give information on the child’s physical health. The school-teacher would be able to provide information on the child’s social development. A psychologist would be able to provide information on the mental status of an abused child...
However, these studies may not be accurate in proving how these factors affect children’s eyewitness accounts because they lack ecological validity. They were all done in a very lab-like environment, and therefore eliminating the nature of a child’s recall. The children knew that they were participating in a study and therefore they may have
As a counselor, one may come to the conclusion that Antwone was only displaying behaviors that he saw has a child. Bandura confirmed that children who experien...