Persuading a Jury: Optional H/W from last lesson: What effect does the order in which testimony is presented have on persuading a jury? (10) JUN 11

Persuasion- Expert Witness From the research by Loftus et al we know that eye witness testimony is unreliable. Why? * What is used in light of this in the courtroom?

Persuasion Expert witnesses are widely used in criminal trials to add scientific credence to evidence. Psychologists such as Loftus are often called as expert witnesses for the defence to warn jurors of the possible problems with eye witness testimony.

Loftus (1980) – Impact of Expert Psychological Testimony Strengths Weaknesses

Persuading a Jury Effect of evidence being ruled inadmissible

JAN 11 What is the effect on a jury of evidence being ruled inadmissible in court? (10)

Learning Objectives  To understand what inadmissible means.  To understand evidence relating to the effect of ruling evidence inadmissible.  To describe and evaluate the key study by Pickel.

The Times (September 9 th 2009) “What is the point of Britain’s intelligence agencies spending millions on surveillance if the information obtained cannot be used to convict dangerous extremists? “ Suspected terrorists are given curfews and are electronically tagged, but the information obtained against them cannot be used in court as it is deemed inadmissible. cle ece

What types of evidence do you think would be considered inadmissible?

Effect of evidence being ruled inadmissible This is when the judge telling a jury to disregard inadmissible evidence. It is an issue in the US legal system. Inadmissible evidence includes unjustified bias or prior conviction evidence (which is not meant to be heard by a jury). If evidence is seen as biased, a re-trial could be called for with a new jury, and counsel responsible for introducing the evidence would be disciplined.

Persuading a Jury: Effect of Inadmissible Evidence

Inadmissible evidence Will the jury really be able to ignore the information? Does the act of telling the jury to ignore the inadmissible evidence make them more or less likely to discount this information?

Broeder (1959) Found a “boomerang effect” Mock jurors, when instructed to disregard a piece of information that showed the defendant was insured, jurors awarded them greater damages than when it was not ruled inadmissible. Perhaps because the instruction to disregard the evidence increased the importance of the information.

Boomerang Effect Also called “Reactance theory” – attention is drawn to this evidence Jury may react to the order to ignore evidence as they perceive that their freedom to take all evidence into account is undermined.

“the jury should ignore that last remark....” This is quite often heard if counsel “drops” a remark that is seen as inadmissible. But how? Reactance theory argues that if a judge asks the jury to ignore a comment, if anything, they are more likely to attend to it.... Kind of like a big red button that should NEVER be pressed.

Key Study Pickel Investigating the effect of instructions to disregard inadmissible evidence

Method

Method - Procedure

Findings Evidence ruled inadmissible and received no explanation were able to ignore the inadmissible evidence. Evidence ruled inadmissible and received an explanation were less able to ignore this information – less guilty verdicts. When measuring the extent to which the prior conviction affected their verdict, there were no significant findings for this.

Conclusion Calling attention to inadmissible evidence makes it more important to the jury and they therefore pay more attention to it. How can we apply these findings to the real life courtroom? This tactic needs to be available to both sides of the argument to ensure a fair trial.

Optional H/W January 2011 What is the effect on a jury of evidence being ruled inadmissible in court? (10)

Compulsory H/W Describe how persuasion may be used in a courtroom. (10)