Forensics Flashcards

Question

Evaluate the use of facial mapping as a forensic technique

Answer 1

Techniques used aren't standardised and not consistently applied by all practitioners Process involves taking measurements, noting characteristics or other techniques which are mainly subjective Mainly unknown validity and reliability

Answer 2

Hair analysis is done by evaluating hair structure and DNA from cells attached to the root of the hair. It can be used to find out if a certain person was at a place at a certain time --> could be convicting However, through this, people have been wrongfully convicted of crimes they didn't commit. Studies confirm long suspected problems with subjective pattern based forensic techniques such as hair analysis

Answer 3

eyewitness testimony

Answer 4

No psychologists argue the opposite --> eyewitness memory is not as reliable as most people believe

Answer 5

Recall memory Recognition memory

Answer 6

Reporting details of previously witnessed event / person (i.e. Short answer questions in a test)

Answer 7

Reporting whether what is currently being viewed / heard is the same as the previous witnessed person / event of interest (i.e. identification evidence) (or even mcqs in a test)

Answer 8

Estimator variables System Variables

Answer 9

These are variables affecting eyewitness evidence, and aren't under control of the criminal justice system. These are variables present at the time of the crime which can't be changed (such as distance from eyewitness and perpetrator)

Answer 10

Witnesses can view same thing and perceive it differently ('easy to miss things you aren't looking for') Our expectations affect our perception --> construct memories based on our preconceived beliefs and expectations. (i.e. easy to miss out for typos because we don't expect them) Context affects our perception of events

Answer 11

Tendency for people to have difficulty identifying people of another race Can identify our race better than other races - likely due to lack of interracial contact However, it has been shown that being part of a multicultural society has reduced own race bias

Answer 12

Exposure time (how long they were shown the crime) Lighting Distance (from crime) Physical disguise Distraction Stress (more stressed you are --> worsens memory -> 'flashbulb memory')

Answer 13

That memory is best at an optimum level of arousal (inverted U hypothesis) Memory is best at a balance

Answer 14

Highly aroused witnesses have better memory for central details than peripheral details What we remember depends on how stressed we are

Answer 15

Shows that the presence of a weapon draws attention and impairs a witness' ability to identify a culprit

Answer 16

These are variables that can be manipulated after the fact / occurence of crime, and impair accuracy of the witness. This is under the control of the justice system. I.e. the method of questioning by police Mainly concerns the questioning techniques used by police which can affect eyewitness accuracy (I.e. misleading questions)

Answer 17

When people are exposed to wrong info about an event after it occurred, it often causes people to incorporate the misinformation into their own memories Links into system variables because different variables under the control of justice question such as misleading questioning can result in the misinformation effect

Answer 18

Participants (Ps) saw pictures of an accident showing a stop sign at an intersection Some Ps were given leading questions suggesting that it was a 'give way' sign at the intersection instead Participants were later shown 2 pictures - one with the car next to the stop sign and another to a give way sign, and Ps had to pick which one was the right photo The results showed that these misleading questions which implied misinformation misled the main group ----------------------------- Ps were shown a film of a traffic accident. Ps were asked "How fast were the cars going when they 'SMASHED' into each other' gave higher speed estimates than those asked "how fast were the cars when they 'HIT' each other' --> shows how small words matter when it comes to misinformation A week later, Ps in the 'smashed' condition were more than twice as likely to recall broken glass when in fact there was none ---------------------------------- MacMartin preschool effect --> children are highly susceptible to suggestion

Answer 19

Police/legal officials shouldn't ask misleading questions to prevent misinformation effect --> ask open non leading questions Needs to be unbiased questions when police officers or lawyers ask / cross examine a witness

Answer 20

Age (young and old) Hypnosis Suggestibility Credible source of misinformation Repetition of misinformation Misinformation is peripheral (not a central aspect of the event)

Answer 21

Methodological issues - type of questioning - ecological validity: applicability of laboratory stimulations to real life solutions Ethical issues: - Implanting traumatic false memories

Answer 22

A false memory is a fabricated or distorted recollection of an event. Such memories may be entirely false and imaginary.

Answer 23

Elizabeth Loftus (and a bit of Pickrell). They wanted to ask whether people would accept suggestions from "rich false memories" (entirely false)

Answer 24

Gave students 4 short narrations of childhood stories / experiences, where 3 were provided by families, and 1 was completely false. Gave false memories such as: Getting lost in a shopping mall Being hospitalised overnight Have an accident at a family wedding Nearly drowning but being rescued by a lifeguard Victim of a vicious animal attack Result is that the fake memories were successfully implanted, with some people confirming the false memories They also found they could include falsified photographs to confirm false memories Just to confirm that none of the above have happened (and that they just forgot as well as their parents), the researchers organised something they knew can't happen (Bugs Bunny at Disneyworld) Ps were told how they met and shook hands with Bugs Bunny at Disneyland --> 16% reported shaking hands with Bugs Bunny

Answer 25

It is where sometimes memory is repressed deep in the unconscious because something trraumatic had happened, and is later recovered by a similar event happening

Answer 26

Williams (1994) interviewed 129 women who had experienced well documented cases of childhood sexual abuse around 17 years earlier. Results showed that 38% of women didn't report abuse in the interviews Goodman et al (2003) also had a similar study and showed similar responses

Answer 27

They argue that some people don't think of abuse as traumatic at the time, and fail to think about abuse for years or forget their previous recollections until they spontaneously recall after encountering memories which are similar, and when they are older and more mature and understanding of what they had been through

Answer 28

Target present lineups Target absent lineups

Answer 29

lineups containing the guilty culprit

Answer 30

lineups contains innocent suspects only

Answer 31

It is very convincing Identification evidence is often inaccurate False IDs have negative consequences --> guilty person goes free and innocent person in jail

Answer 32

Surveyed justice officials DNA exoneration cases Empirical studies of ID performance

Answer 33

Reported that over 70% thought that erroneous convictions occurred in less than 1% of the cases. Even though this sounds little, it is quite a lot, esppecially if we consider around 1.5 million convictions a year in the US Shows how IDs can be sketchy

Answer 34

DNA analysis used to prove innocence of those convicted. 72% of DNA exoneration due to mistaken ID in 2015

Answer 35

Field studies Laboratory studies

Answer 36

Have high ecological validity, but lack of experimental control

Answer 37

Allows for more control, but typically lacks ecological validity

Answer 38

a measure of how test performance predicts behaviours in real-world settings

Answer 39

Studies had confederates go into convenience stores / banks to perform unusual transactions Overall, 41.8% of the IDs were correct, and 35.8% were false Results were no different to blank clerks who claimed they had been trained in IDing

Answer 40

Participants watch a staged crime. They were then required to identify perpetrator from either photos or a live lineup Showed rate of false ID varied from 0% to almost 100%. False IDs associated with high witness confidence

Answer 41

Aren't designed to estimate overall level of accuracy, rather they are designed to investigate the effect of a particular variable (i.e. how does duration of time of seeing perpetrator affect accuracy)

Answer 42

Viewing conditions fatigue, alcohol etc attention own race bias weapon focus arousal

Answer 43

ID procedures Instructions given to witnesses Composition of lineup Format of ID procedure Lineup presentation

Answer 44

Showups Lineups

Answer 45

1 person lineup containing only the suspect, which can be performed in street or at police station Acceptable if there isn't enough evidence to arrest and conduct lineup Has been criticised as biased because witnesses know the person the police suspect --> high rate of false IDs as a result The whole purpose is that it allows for the arrest of a person for further questioning

Answer 46

Tests ability of witness to identify the suspect when seen with several foils Procedures vary greatly between jurisdictions

Answer 47

UK, suspect be part of a lineup of 7+ innocent foils of similar appearance, and they can choose their position in the line In NSW, they are often 20 people in a lineup

Answer 48

Characteristics of the suspect shouldn't stand out from those of foils (i.e. gender) Lineups should contain foils who look like the eyewitness description unless doing so would cause the suspect to stand out

Answer 49

Matches the verbal description of the eyewitness, but differs from suspect in ways not mentioned in the description. (if everyone looks identical, it would be hard to ID someone)

Answer 50

live, video, photos

Answer 51

Expensive and difficult to arrange research shows that lineups might not even be worth it --> doesn't even allow for the person to be identified

Answer 52

Photo lineups (or photospread) mugshot search

Answer 53

They test witness ability to recognise a suspect. Involves a series of photographs which may or may not include the suspect

Answer 54

Should only be used to help identify suspect in the early stages of an investigation. Involves witnesses being exposed to a whole lot of mugshots and required to identify the person who committed the crime. However there are flaws to this

Answer 55

Unocnsious transference: when people remember a face, but mistake the circumstances in which they saw the face --> picks that person in the mugshot search --> false ID

Answer 56

Witnesses should be told that perpetrator may or may not be in the lineup Witnesses more likely to ID someone if they're told suspect is in the lineup Thus, have to maintain unbiased instructions Also, there should be a double blind where the police officer doesn't know the suspect either, because if they do, they are likely to give verbal and non verbal cues to witness which might lead them to make biased decisions

Answer 57

Simultaneous lineups Sequential lineups

Answer 58

Present all lineup members at the same time to the witness

Answer 59

Suspects are presented one at a time, and the person must decide if it is or not the criminal before seeing another photo or person

Answer 60

Sequential lineup, because witnesses use absolute judgement instead of relative judgement However, sequential lineups less likely to identify any suspect than simultaneous, but when there was identification, they were more likely to be guilty

Answer 61

Involves comparing lineup members to one another and only choosing who looks the most like the culprit --> who looks more relatively suspicious kind of

Answer 62

Each member of lineup could be equally suspicious. I have to make a decision as to who is the most like the suspect Each member of lineup is there to test the witness memory

Answer 63

Jurors more likely to believe confident witnesses but confidence isn't always related to accuracy Juries are more likely to convict if there is a witness, even if the witness testimony is discredited

Answer 64

9 recommendations: conduct thorough pre lineup interview of eyewitness to see if they can remember / recognise the suspect or not decide when or even whether to conduct a lineup use a neutral administrator to conduct a lineup setup lineup fillers so suspect doesn't stand out Give non suggestive pre lineup instructions to eyewitnesses Take confidence statements from eyewitness immediately after an identification VIdeo record the entire procedure Avoid repeated ID procedures with the same witness and suspect Avoid "showups" in favour of lineups -------------------------------- Educate jurors about: biased lineups lineup instructions given How confidence isn't always a good indicator of accuracy The way in (mis) leading questions can influence memory

Answer 65

A technique for identifying the major personality and behavioural characteristics of an individual based upon analysis of crimes he/she has committed Often includes info about demographics, personality and behavioural characteristics Normally used in serial homicides or rapes

Answer 66

Late 1400s: Text written by contractors to catholic church for purpose of accurately idnetifying and eradicating witches 1888:A police surgeon attempted to profile Jack the Ripper 1956: Most famous early case was Dr James Brussel who profiled the "mad bomber" 1970s: Development of criminal profiling program at the FBI Today: similar programs developed internationally

Answer 67

Deductive criminal profiling Inductive criminal profiling FBI approach Statistical approach Geographical profiling

Answer 68

Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on evidence left at the crime scene(s) by that particular offedner relies on logical reasoning

Answer 69

Has 3 types: FBI approach Statistical profiling Geographical profiling Here, it involves profiling background characteristics of an unknown offender based on what we know about other solved cases Relies on determining how likely an offender has certain characteristics given the prevalence of such characteristics among known offenders who committed similar offences

Answer 70

Involves the organised vs disorganised crime scene approach The FBI method of profiling is a system created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) used to detect and classify the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual

Answer 71

Proposes that crime scenes can be either organised or disorganised, and whichever one it is, it will reveal the behaviours/characteristics of the offender

Answer 72

Planned in advanced Specific victim targeted - is "personalised" Controlled conversation Crime scene shows signs of control Restraint used Body moved and hidden Evidence and weapon removed

Answer 73

Spontaneous offence Depersonalises victim Minimal convesation Chaotic scene Sudden violence Body left in view Evidence and weapon in view

Answer 74

Intelligent Socially competent Skilled job Sexually competent Lives with partner Follows details of crime in news May move following crimes etc.

Answer 75

Average IQ Immature Poor work history Sexually incompetent Lives alone Lives near crime scene Little interest in media Little change in lifestyle after crime etc.

Answer 76

Little research examined in the model, and the ones that did showed serious doubts with the model Can't account for offences with a mix of organised and disorganised features Model is too simplistic

Answer 77

Involves use of data collected from solved similar crimes, and this is analysed using stats However, this type of analysis can be statistically unstablle, especially if there is no large sample size for data collection

Answer 78

Involves analysis of crime scene locations in order to determine the most probable area of offender residence Assumes that offenders don't travel long distances from home to commit their crimes

Answer 79

Pinzzotto et al (1990): gave solved cases (sex offence and murder) to profilers detectives, psychologists and students Profilers did much better with sex offence but not murder Profilers didnt use their info any different to other groups ----------------------------------- Koscis et al (2000): Gave solved murder cases to profilers, police, psychologists, students and psychis Psychologists are only slightly better than police and psychics

Answer 80

It is the successful or unsuccessful DELIBERATE attempt without forewarning to create in another a belief which the communicator knows to be false

Answer 81

1917: William Marston claimed to detect lying by measuring systolic blood pressure 1932: A Lorsou built forerunner to modern polygraph which measured pulse rate blood presure etc.

Answer 82

They measure physiological changes. This thus assumes that telling is a lie is more stressful than telling the truth They measure examples such as: Blood pressure Respiration Heart rate Sweating

Answer 83

Helps in criminal investigations Verifying a crime occurred Pre employment screening (especially for security)

Answer 84

Could be used in some conexts in Aus, UK and most of Europe, however it is not part of legal process. Prohibited from use in criminal investigations Act

Answer 85

Relevant / Irrelevant test Control Question Test Guilty Knowledge Test

Answer 86

Invovles asking questions related to crime and irrelevant to it. Idea is that guilty people react more strongly when lying about relevant questions Issue is that innocents will know which are relative questions of worry --> worrying --> false positive

Answer 87

a technique used in polygraph testing, typically for criminal investigations. In addition to questions relevant to the crime and general questions to get a baseline pattern of physiological responses (i.e., irrelevant questions), the CQT also includes questions about past behavior (e.g., “Have you ever cheated on your taxes?”) with the aim of eliciting strong physiological reactions on the part of examinees.

Answer 88

Pre-test interview Developes yes/no questions discussed with suspect: Irrelevant questions = no arousal Relevant questions = Discussed with suspect and agree that its unambiguous. Stressful for guilty but not for innocent Control questions: Issues related to crime but not crime itself. These questions should embarass both innocent and guilty. These questions require an honest 'yes' response, but subject told they must lie, and the polygraph will detect this 'baseline'

Answer 89

Important as polygraphs only work if suspects believes they work This phase involves manipulation. We need a stimulation test to convince suspect that the polygraph can detect lies. Often involves a rigged card trick --> pretend polygraph can see if a lie is happening

Answer 90

Control, relevant and irrelevant questions asked several times

Answer 91

Score the responses using either: Subjective impressionism (GLobal approach) Numerical scoring approach: relevant > control = -ve score control . relevant = +ve score All comparisons added to take a total score

Answer 92

Difficult to create control Q Scoring isn't quantifiable enough Ethically worse How do we know if suspect is 'taken in' by stim test Why should innocents have stronger response to control than relevant Qs?

Answer 93

Assesses if suspect has info only the criminal would know Asks suspects MCQ, one option is correct. Assumes if suspect is guilty, they will react strongly to correct info Innocents won't recognise crime relevant details --> no response Check all alternatives are equally arousing for innocent people Examiner can't be aware of correct answer

Answer 94

Applicability: issue arises when info is released to media --> everyone already has access to the info --> can't be used unless lots of details which are only known to perpetrator Knowledge of perpetrator: Assumes perpetrator knows or remembers details which might not be true

Answer 95

Majority of guilty are identified accurately 84% to 92% guilty identified Relatively large number of innocent suspects falsely identified as guilty through this method (9% to 24% ) --> false positives

Answer 96

Very accurate at identifying innocents (95% correct ID). Less accurate at identifying guilty participants (85%)

Answer 97

People say lying is considered more stressful --> voice changes --> voice stress analysis (VSA), however this has been shown to be unlikely to tell the truth or lie Recebt research into EEG and brain scanning by fMRI, however results of studies havent shown enoug consistency to be admissible in court

Answer 98

Gain info which furthers the investigation Obtain confession

Answer 99

Mid 1900s: whipping suspects for confession 1980s: stun guns for confessions More recently: Psychological methods such as deceit

Answer 100

It involves techniques from Inbau, Reid and Buckleys (1986) 'Criminal Interrogations and confessions' book Techniques are unlawful in many western European countries and Australia

Answer 101

Gather evidence Conduct a non-accusatorial interview to assess deception Conduct accusatorial interrogation to obtain a confession

Answer 102

Positive confrontation Theme development Handling denials Overcoming objections Retaining suspect's attention Handling suspect's mood Create opportunity to confess Oral confession Converting an oral confession to a written one

Answer 103

Small, bare room Control of aspects such as lighting should be inaccessible to suspect Invasion of suspect's physical space One way mirror

Answer 104

Involves the: Direct presentation of real or fictional(can be made up) evidence and suspects involvement in crime Behavioural cues of suspect observed Repetition of accusation

Answer 105

Theme development depends on emotional state of suspect: If emotional --> minimisation Non Emotional --> maximisation However, we could flip from minimisation to maximisation or the reverse as well throughout the interview

Answer 106

Involves acting as a good cop, build rapport and help minimise the perceived seriousness of the crime, minimise blame on victim

Answer 107

Involves acting as a bad cop. Intimidate suspects to confess

Answer 108

Involves stopping suspect's repetition / elaboration of denials This is because the more a suspect does this, the harder it is to be persuaded to tell the truth Innocents wont allow their denials to be cut off, but guilty suspects will

Answer 109

Shows understanding when faced with objections, and can return to conversation theme

Answer 110

Achieved by moving close to the suspect, leaning in towards them and maintaing eye contact

Answer 111

Interrogation focuses on the suspects mind on potential reasons for committing crime Interrogator exhibits signs of sympathy, urges subject to tell truth and create remorseful mood

Answer 112

Suspects given opportunity to explain or give excuse for crime Two alternate explanations of crime: acceptable and unaccpetable excuses. Here, the alternative is stressed to lead subjects to choose the other positive 'face-saving' excuse / acceptable excuse. However, either choice is an admission of guilt --> bad

Answer 113

Involves the suspect orally disclosing circumstances, motives and details of crime Questions should be brief, clear and non emotional Brief responses involved

Answer 114

Get suspect to write confession as they could sometimes deny they made an oral confession

Answer 115

minimisation emphasises positive aspects of admitting guilt Maximisation emphasises negative aspects of not making a confession These techniques create a more positive attitude to confession

Answer 116

Officers enter the interrogation with the belief that the suspect is guilty, which can lead to inappropriate biases Trickery and deceit are unlawful in several countries and unethical Pressing suspects to confess may result in the opposite effects (the “boomerang effect”) and suspects may retain strong feelings of resentment towards police Guilty suspect may catch on to bluffing and not believe anything told Police may think it’s okay to bluff in other circumstances Vulnerable suspects may get PTSD Brief responses from suspects might not give the whole, accurate story Assumes that police officers can accurately detect deception when little evidence supports this assumption and indicators of deception endorsed are not appropriate Technique may lead to false confessions

Answer 117

Occurs when individuals confess to a crime they didn't commit or exaggerate involvement in a crime they didn't commit

Answer 118

27% of prisoners gave false confessions 95% of new inmates to Icelandic persons interviewed ove 12 months: 12% claimed to have made a false confession Greater than 50% said they made false confession to escape interrogation Less than 50% said they did it to protect others

Answer 119

Voluntary Coerced-compliant Coerced-internalisation

Answer 120

Occurs without being prompted.. Could be because: Desire for notoriety Inability to distinguish fact from fiction Protect real offender Subconsious need to be punished

Answer 121

Here confessions are a response to desire to escape further interrogation or gain a reward or avoid threatened punishment. Here the confessor knows they didn't commit a crime

Answer 122

Results of highly suggestive interrogations. Confessor comes to believe they actually committed the crime People with learning disabilities more susceptible to this

Answer 123

Compliance and suggestibility

Answer 124

Tendency to go along with authority

Answer 125

Tendency to internalise info communicated through questions

Answer 126

They must be given voluntary by a person who is competent Confessions obtained by coercive tactics aren't admissible in court

Answer 127

Confessor is arrested Police get directed down a false trail --> cant catch real offedner Public loses faith in the capabilities of police because of revelation of false confessions

Answer 128

It is important to a form of 'investigative interviewing' which aims to reduce the 'investigation' aspect. Includes: Planning and preparation Explain and engage Account Closure Evaluation

Answer 129

It reveals information too early in the process, which is detrimnetal to innocent suspects and beneficial to those guilty According to SUE echnique, late disclosure of evidence can assist in distinguishing truth from lie

Answer 130

All interviews with suspects is to be recorded using Electronic Recording Of Interview With Suspects (ERISP). Videotaping interrogations

Answer 131

Protects police against false allegations of abuse Protects citizens from police coercion Allows courts to make informed decisions

Answer 132

Pressure on police to solve crimes quickly Suspects who confess are more likely to plead guilty Confession evidence helps prosecution Detectives who obtain confessions are highly regarded Police officers often assume suspect is guilty

Answer 133

Confession rates from 49-61% Similar confession rates before and after changes in laws regarding manipulative and persuasive tactics, and similar confession rates in the US The stereotypical beliefs that suspects deny involvement in crimes and prefer to remain silent are untrue Only a small minority of suspects change their ‘position’ throughout an interview

Answer 134

Strength of evidence (strong evidence --> increased confessions) Perceived seriousness of crime (decreased seriousness --> increased confession) The presence of a legal advisor (Decreased confession with legal advisor present) Criminal history of the suspect (less likely to confess if experienced at crime)

Answer 135

Participants accused of committing a “crime”–pressing the “Alt key” when told not to because computer crashes. However, computer set to crash automatically Manipulated: Participants vulnerability (typing pace) Presence of false evidence (false witnesses) Results show two factors increase risk of false confessions: Suspect who lacks clear memory of event Presentation of false eveidence However, the study was criticised as participants had no -ve consequence for confession. Thus, it was replicated but participants told they lose 80% of reward if confession is signed. Still 82% signed and 42% internalised the confession

Answer 136

Jurors must have citizenship Be at least 18 years of age No ex prisoners (within 10 years) senators , judges, medical professionals etc. exempt

Answer 137

Apply the law to the evidence and render a verdict of guilt or innocence. Uses wisdom of 12, and acts as the community conscience and protects against out of date laws

Answer 138

Juries ignoring the law and rendering a verdict based on other criteria.. May happen in cases where juries believe the law is unfair

Answer 139

Impartiality - Lack of bias on the part of the jurors Representativeness - Representative of community ensured through random selection from community

Answer 140

Pre existing biases, prejudices, attitudes Negative pretrial publicity

Answer 141

Affected by how the original panel is selected, what % of people turn up, who is disqualified and who can avoid jury duty etc.

Answer 142

Court uses voter lists, phone directories to find eligible people for juries People are randomly drawn from list and summoned for duty Pretrial gathering of potential jurors from which jurors are selected

Answer 143

Peremptory challenges Challenge for cause

Answer 144

Removal of a limited number of prospective jurors without specifying reasons

Answer 145

Both parties have unlimited right to challenge with "cause" i.e. for a stated reason

Answer 146

Process of choosing and shaping jury through use of peremptory challenges and challenges with causes

Answer 147

No they can't consistently predict it

Answer 148

Evidence > characteristics of jurors are main determinants of juror verdicts

Answer 149

It draws correlations between demographics and trial-relevant attitudes. If prospective jurors have an unfavourable profile, they will use a peremptory challenge to exclude them

Answer 150

There may be a problem with representativeness of jury of the whole population

Answer 151

Allows for picking jurors with more refined version than intuition.

Answer 152

Post trial interviews Archival Records Simulation Techniques Field Studies

Answer 153

Interviews after trials. However, not possible in many countries because jurors cant disclose content of deliberations. However it can be done in the US Limitations include: social desirability of responses Inaccurate recall

Answer 154

Uses records of trials (e.g. transcripts, police interviews) Limitations include: Inability to establish cause and effect Limited in what questions can be asked by information available for collection

Answer 155

Mock jurors presented with simulated trial and asked to have a verdict or judgement. Independent variables can be manipulated. Limitations include: Can't be generalised to real life (especially due to no real consequence)

Answer 156

Research conducted within real trial, and enables researchers to observe processes using 'shadow juries'. This has high ecological validity Limitations include: Obtaining permission from courts is difficult Variables of interest can't be controlled Most research examines US jury systems, with very little consideration of other countries such as Aus

Answer 157

Listening to the evidence Disregarding inadmissable evidence Judge's instructions Juror decision making Jury deliberation The final verdict

Answer 158

Involves listening to evidence. Research suggests that note taking may help jurors increase memory and understanding of evidence and attention --> note taking can be helpful Also, jurors can't always comprehend meaning of statistical evidence and scientific findings, thus jurors can ask witnesses questions via the judge. Research shows that questions increase understanding but dont really help get to the truth

Answer 159

During trials, lawyers or witnesses may make inadmissible statements that juries will be instructed to disregard Jurors may not ignore evidence although they have been instructed to disregard it In fact, instructions to ignore inadmissible evidence can boomerang–adding to the impact of the testimony

Answer 160

The instruction draws attention to the controversial evidence Arouses reactance: The desire to assert one’s sense of freedom Jurors want to reach the right decision, regardless of legal technicalities

Answer 161

Studies suggest that jurors do not remember, understand, or accurately apply judicial instructions Reforms for judges’ instructions have been proposed (e.g., rewriting instructions, providing a written copy to jurors)

Answer 162

Mathematical and explanation models are used to explain juror decisions

Answer 163

Views jury decision-making as a set of mental calculations A mathematical weight is assigned to each piece of evidence Research indicates jurors do not put a value to each piece of evidence

Answer 164

Suggests evidence is organized into a coherent whole E.g., Story model: Involves imposing a story structure to the evidence for each verdict option Research indicates this is more consistent with how jurors make their decisions

Answer 165

Involves the jury deliberating on the decision. It can also have other factors playing a part in it, such as the leniency bias, group polarisation and minority deliberation

Answer 166

Tendency for jury deliberation to produce a tilt towards acquittal

Answer 167

Individuals tend to become more extreme in their initial position after group discussion

Answer 168

Not overly likely in jury situations, but often a minority favouring acquittal stands a better chance than one that favours conviction

Answer 169

Involves coming to the final decision/vedict Involves the 'two third majority scheme' <-- predicted by this. Also, as of 2007, majority verdicts are accepted in NSW (11 to 1) if there is no unanimous verdict, however there cant be a hung jury

Answer 170

Jury verdict is usually the alternative favoured by 2/3 of jurors

Answer 171

Demographic Personality Attitudes Defendant characteristics

Answer 172

Juror demographic characteristics to predict verdicts is often inconsistent and has a small correlation There may be an interaction between demographics of jury and defendant or nature of offence Participants more likely to have guilty verdicts and longer sentences for "other race" defendants When defendant race is made salient, juror racial bias towards black defendants decrease.

Answer 173

Some personality dimensions have been suggested to predict verdict E.g., Moderate link between an authoritarian personality and rendering a guilty verdict Some jurors are more persuasive than others (e.g., extroverts, male, tall)

Answer 174

Jurors willing to give the death penalty are more likely to render a guilty verdict than those opposed to the death penalty Research on other attitudes or values is insufficient to reach definitive conclusions

Answer 175

Criminal history has been found to impact verdicts Less attractive defendants found to be guilty when jurors did not deliberate, however the attractive defendant was more likely to be found guilty when jury allowed to deliberate Similarity - latency hypothesis Black sheep effect

Answer 176

Jurors who share characteristics with the defendant will be more lenient

Answer 177

Similarity between defendent and jurors predicted leniency, except when there is strong evidence against defendant in which case it was more severe (may be because of a desire to be dissociated from the person who seems similar)

Answer 178

Being trialed by one’s peers does not guarantee a fair trial Juries are not always representative of community Jury does not give reason for decision Juries can be unpredictable –decisions may not be rational Jury trials often result in mistrials or hung juries Juries are expensive and slow Juries sometimes do not understand or remember evidence Too important a job to be left to amateurs!