Module 2 Flashcards
What is a criminal case?
Those in which act was allegedly committed as found in the Criminal Code of Canada
What is a civil case?
Those that involve a breach of contract or other claims of harm
Does Canada require all cases to involve a jury?
No
In Canada, are juries involved with murder cases?
Yes
What is the process of jury selection?
- eligibility criteria
- prospective jurors are randomly drawn from telephone or voter lists
- selected people receive a jury summons asking them to report for jury duty
- commonalities include: minimum age requirements (18-19 years of age) and exempt professions
What are the three types of offenses in Canada?
1) Summary
2) Indictable
3) Hybrid
What type of offence is typically lower risk, less than 6 months and $2000 fine?
Summary
What is a hybrid offence?
Cross between indictable and summary offence. The maximum sentence is 5 or more years in prison
What is the maximum sentence typically in summary cases?
18 months
Which type of case is always tried by judges alone?
Summary
What type of offence always must be tried with a judge and jury?
Murder
What type of case consists of the less serious being heard by judges, and the more serious are tried by judge and jury?
Indictable
If an individual is summoned to jury, does that guarantee they’ll serve on a jury?
No
What is a peremptory challenge?
Lawyers are able to challenge potential jurors without providing a reason
How many peremptory challenges do murder cases have?
20
How many peremptory challenges are allowed for typical crime cases?
12
What goes into jury composition in Canada?
Representativeness and impartiality
What does representativeness in jury composition consist of?
Composition of jury similar to community where crime occurred
What goes into impartiality in jury composition in Canada?
Unbiased juror is able to set aside prejudices and render a verdict based on admissible evidence. Has no connection to the defendant
What are the functions of the jury?
Juries are fact finders. They apply the law to evidence in a case and make a decision as to the guilt of the defendant
What are some specific jobs of a jury? What do they apply the wisdom of 12 in order to do?
Act as the conscience of community, protect against out of date laws and increase knowledge about judicial system
What is jury nullification?
Juries choose to ignore laws and render verdict based on different criteria (they believe the law is unfair given circumstances of case)
How do juries reach a verdict?
After evidence has all been heard, the closing arguments are made and judges provide juries with instructions regarding the law that is to be applied in the case. The jury deliberates and reaches a verdict
What happens when juries are told by the judge to disregard certain evidence?
Backfire effect - evidence becomes more memorable after judge tells them to disregard it
In Canada, how many people are typically involved in a jury?
12 people and can continue as long as no more than 2 people drop out
When are juries sequestered?
Once deliberations begin until verdict is reached
Are jurors allowed to speak with anyone outside or court-appointed officers?
No
What are 2 factors that can influence a juror’s position on the case?
Polarization and leniency bias
What is required for the jury to reach a verdict in Canada?
Must be unanimous
When is the jury said to be hung or deadlocked?
When jury can’t reach unanimous verdict
What are common variables that can predict the verdict of a jury?
Demographic, personality, attitude, defendant characteristics, victim characteristics and expert testimony
When were the tape shield laws enacted to protect victims of sexual assault from being questioned about their sexual history?
1985
When were the laws amended allowing trial judges to decide if questions into victims sexual history are relevant and allowed?
1992
According to the recent Supreme Court ruling, who is the onus on to show if victim’s sexual history is relevant to the case?
Defendant
What has research shown about the outcome when victim’s sexual history involves sexual intercourse in the last year?
Jurors are more likely to doubt the victim’s credibility and find her blameworthy. Sexual history of the victim also does not impact the assessment of the defendant
In simulation research, when were the participants more convinced by expert’s testimony?
When experts had high credentials and a complex testimony
How many lies do the average north American’s tell a day?
1-2
When will behavioural cues to deception likely not be present?
If liar is not excited, scared or guilty, or if lie is easy to fabricate
Can you detect lying by focusing on eye contact?
The number one stereotype is that liars avoid eye contact but there is no scientific evidence to support that eye behaviours are a reliable way to detect it
Is it easy to detect a liar?
No, people are accurate 55% of the time, police are accurate 55.5% of the time
Can you detect a liar by fidgeting?
No, fidgeting is unrelated
What are verbal indicators of deception?
Liars tend to speak in a higher pitched voice than those telling the truth
What are three somatic disorders?
1) Malingering
2) Factitious disorder
3) Factitious disorder imposed on another
What is intentionally faking psychological or physical symptoms for some type of external gain?
Malingering
What type of somatic disorder would involve seeking hospital admission to obtain food and room?
Malingering
When does malingering occur?
When there is perceived adverbial context, personal stakes are very high, no other viable alternatives
What are some cues of malingered psychosis?
Understandable motive for committing crime, presence of a partner in the crime, current crime fits pattern of previous criminal activity, suspicious hallucinations and delusions, marked discrepancies in interview vs non interview Behavior, sudden emergence of psychotic symptoms to explain criminal act, absence of any subtle signs of psychosis
What does the interview based method for detecting malingered psychosis involve?
172 items, 8 scales that represent strategies a person might employ when malingering (rare symptoms that true patients endorse infrequently)
What disorder involves a person’s symptoms under voluntary control but person has no obvious reason for voluntarily producing the symptom?
Factitious disorder
When a person produces the symptoms in another member of the family what is Factitious disorder called?
Factitious disorder imposed on another
What is a device for recording an individual’s automatic nervous system responses?
Polygraph technique
What did the Floyd Fay case show about polygraphs?
Results don’t always show the truth
What are the applications of a polygraph?
Police may use the polygraph to resolve a case, verify a crime has occurred, insurance companies use them to verify claims, and in the US they use them to assess and monitor sex offenders
What is a potential source of inaccuracy with the polygraph?
Doesn’t measure lying, only measures emotional reactivity
What are the two techniques used with polygraphs?
1) Comparison Question Test
2) Concealed Information Test