Download or read book Juror Attitudes and Biases in Sexual Assault Cases written by Natalie Taylor and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sexual assault has among the highest rates of acquittal and lowest rates of proven guilt compared with other offences. Given that more than 70 percent of sexual assault incidents are not reported to police and only about one in 10 reported incidents results in a guilty finding, increasing conviction rates for sexual assault is a key issue for the criminal justice system. This paper presents findings from two recent studies conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology. These show that juror judgements in rape trials are influenced more by the attitudes, beliefs and biases about rape which jurors bring with them into the courtroom than by the objective facts presented, and that stereotypical beliefs about rape and victims of it still exist within the community. As jurors are members of the community and are randomly drawn in order to be representative of it, the two studies together indicate that successful prosecutions of sexual assault will remain low until we acknowledge that jurors interpret what they see in light of their own beliefs, experience and expectations. We need to know what these belief structures are and how they directly impact upon judgements in rape trials, if conviction rates are to improve.
Download or read book The Impact of Pre recorded Video and Closed Circuit Television Testimony by Adult Sexual Assault Complainants on Jury Decision making written by Natalie Taylor and published by National Gallery of Australia. This book was released on 2005 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report presents the findings from a mock sexual assault jury trial research project conducted on behalf of the New South Wales Attorney General's Department in 2005. The project aimed to investigate whether the impact of adult sexual assault complainant testimony on juror perceptions and decisions differs if presented via closed circuit television (CCTV), pre-recorded videotape or face-to-face in the courtroom. The study also investigated the impact of emotional versus neutral complainant testimony. Eighteen mock trials were held in a mock courtroom in which 210 members of the public participated as jurors. After watching the trial but before jury deliberation, jurors completed individual questionnaires which investigated their perceptions of complainant credibility, empathy with the complainant, overall impression of the complainant, empathy with the accused, overall impression of the accused and personal beliefs about guilt of the accused. After jury deliberation, jurors completed a questionnaire which asked again about their beliefs about guilt of the accused. Jurors also completed a questionnaire about their attitudes toward rape victims in general. The report outlines the methodology used, the key findings, issues arising from juror feedback and the difficulties encountered by jurors in trying to reach unanimous verdicts. The study finds, overall, that immediately following the trial but before jury deliberation, mode of presentation of testimony (face-to-face, CCTV or pre-recorded videotape) did not impact differentially on juror perceptions of the complainant or the accused, or guilt of the accused. The degree to which the complainant was upset while giving her testimony (emotional) or calm (neutral) was also not found to impact in any consistent pattern on juror perceptions or decisions. One of the key insights obtained during this study was the high degree to which many jurors believed many of the "myths" which surround rape in general. Acceptance of these myths means that many jurors have strong expectations about how a "real" victim would behave before, during and after an alleged sexual assault. These expectations impact on their perceptions of the complainant's credibility. Other key issues were the difficulty juries experienced in defining reasonable doubt, and the difficulty of understanding what was meant by "consent".
Download or read book Jurors and Rape written by Hubert S. Feild and published by Great Source Education Group. This book was released on 1980 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Programmatic Pretest Posttest Research to Reduce Jury Bias in Child Sexual Abuse Cases written by Jane Goodman-Delahunty and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: English Abstract: When lay jurors are unfamiliar with key evidentiary issues, expert evidence, judicial instructions and group deliberation may enhance their understanding of this evidence. Systematic steps to assess the relationship between juror biases in cases of child sexual abuse are offered as an example to illustrate a programmatic research approach. Using pretest-posttest research designs, the effectiveness of three traditional legal procedural safeguards to reduce common jury misconceptions in the context of simulated trials were tested and compared. By measuring mock-juror knowledge before and after each intervention, knowledge gains attributable to these interventions were distinguished from practice effects. Unexpected increases in acquittals following deliberation underscored the importance of adding adequate control groups and of testing deliberation effects in jury simulation studies. Benefits of this research paradigm to assist courts, legal counsel and policy makers in devising effective methods to enhance jury decisions in complex criminal cases are discussed.Spanish Abstract: Cuando los miembros del jurado popular no están familiarizados con los temas probatorios clave, las pruebas periciales, las instrucciones judiciales y la deliberación de grupo pueden mejorar su comprensión de las evidencias. Se ofrecen pasos sistemáticos para evaluar la relación entre sesgos del jurado en casos de abusos a menores como un ejemplo para ilustrar un enfoque de investigación programática. Se probó y comparó la efectividad de tres garantías procesales jurídicas tradicionales para reducir los malentendidos comunes de los jurados en el contexto de juicios simulados, usando patrones de investigación pre y post análisis. Al medir el conocimiento de jurados en juicios simulados antes y después de cada intervención, se distinguían los conocimientos adquiridos atribuibles a estas intervenciones. Un aumento inesperado de absoluciones después de la deliberación ponía de manifiesto la importancia de añadir grupos de control adecuados y analizar los efectos de la deliberación en los estudios de jurados en juicios simulados. Se analizan los beneficios de este paradigma de investigación para ayudar a tribunales, abogados y legisladores en el desarrollo de métodos eficaces para mejorar las decisiones del jurado en casos penales complejos.
Download or read book Sexual Assault and the Justice Gap A Question of Attitude written by Jennifer Temkin and published by Hart Publishing. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the attitudinal problems which bedevil the 'justice gap' in sexual assault cases and possible strategies for addressing them.
Download or read book Factors Affecting Juror Decision making in Sexual Abuse Trials Involving Recovered Memories written by Angela Mary Michelle Burbridge and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this research was to explore the influences of the gender of mock jurors, and the gender and age of plaintiffs, on juror verdicts in cases involving recovery of repressed memories. The impact of personal attitudes and beliefs regarding childhood sexual abuse and adolescent sexuality on verdicts was also investigated. Participants consisted of 524 jury-eligible individuals. Each participant read one of four fictional trial summaries in which alleged victim age and plaintiff gender were manipulated. Participants rendered verdicts in favour of either the plaintiff or defendant, rated plaintiff and defendant truthfulness, and indicated the amount of compensation they would offer the plaintiff. One week later, jurors completed attitudinal questionnaires. Results indicated that females are more sympathetic to alleged victims than males (as reflected in more favourable verdicts and compensation for the plaintiff). Findings also suggest that a gender bias exists among male jurors; specifically, malesoffered more compensation to female victims than to male victims, whereas female jurors offered similar amounts to both male and female victims. Juror attitudes were found to account for gender differences in the amount of compensation provided to victims and ratings of female plaintiff truthfulness. Implications for future research are discussed.
Download or read book Appearance Bias and Crime written by Bonnie Berry and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-11 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book offers a new way of examining crime, criminal victimization, and crime control through the lens of appearance bias. It covers timely topics, such as human trafficking, terrorism, racial profiling, and the effects of inequality on appearance, and it offers policy and legislative recommendations and discussions of social movements.
Download or read book The Effect of Rape Myths on Blame Attributions in Sexual Assault Cases written by Judith Guevara and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sexual assault is unfortunately prevalent in our society and culture. Moreover, about a quarter of women and one in ten men have reported sexual assault in their lifetimes, but only about a quarter of reported cases are ever prosecuted. Culture and promotion of sex roles contribute to the increased myths about rape in our society. As such, people who are victims of rape tend to not report their assault for fear of rejection, retraumatization, and the possibility that law enforcement will not refer the case for prosecution. Moreover, research shows that legal personnel frequently respond to victims in a cold or impersonal manner, express disbelief, blame the victim, and may even deny services. This study aims to determine the underlying factors that contribute to rape myths and how these biases affect jury decisions in sexual assault cases. Findings indicated that myths about rape may have a significant impact on verdicts in sexual assault cases. It was found that most verdicts appeared to correspond with myths about blaming the victim and excusing the perpetrator. The hope is that this study may provide views on how to change policy in order to attain more justice for victims of sexual assault.
Download or read book Understanding Juror Decision Making and Bias in Insanity Defense Cases written by Jennifer Lynne Skeem and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sexual Assault and the Justice Gap A Question of Attitude written by Jennifer Temkin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is set against the background of the 'justice gap' in sexual assault cases - the dramatic gap between the number of offences recorded by the police and the number of convictions. It seeks to examine the attitudinal problems which bedevil this area of law and possible strategies for addressing them. Written by a professor of law and a professor of psychology, it reviews evidence from socio-legal and social cognition research and presents new data drawn both from interviews with judges and barristers and from studies with prospective lawyers and members of the public. In the final part, it considers different ways in which rape trials could be improved and suggests steps that could be taken to change public attitudes about sexual assault.
Download or read book Juror Perceptions of Witness Credibility in a Sexual Assault Case written by Julie Gianesini and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Victim Race Defendant Race and Juror Prejudice on Perceptions and Decisions in Child Sexual Assault Cases written by Suzanne L. Davis and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Expert Witness Gender and Juror Bias in a Rape Trial written by Kathryn Carver and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: As many as 28 percent of American college women have been sexually assaulted (Dunn, Vail-Smith, 1999). The majority of these women do not report the crime, and of those rapes that are prosecuted, 54 percent end in dismissal or acquittal leaving the majority of rapists free to assault another victim (Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate, 1993). The problem is partially due to juror bias in rape trials. Research shows that female experts testifying about issues related to women and children can provide better evidence or experience dealing with these issues, implying the immediate topic of a case and the gender of the expert can have an effect on juries (Couch, 2002). In this study, expert testimony was given by a clinical psychologist, forensic psychologist holding a Ph.D., or a licensed counselor with a M.S. degree, who testified that the rape victim suffers from rape trauma syndrome (RTS).
Download or read book Prosecutorial Decisions in Adult Sexual Assault Cases written by Denise Lievore and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prosecution agencies are often criticised for their performance in prosecuting sexual assault. A lack of external transparency means there is little knowledge about the specific criteria used in decisions to proceed with or discontinue prosecutions. Understanding the factors that impact on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion therefore constitutes an important step towards improving criminal justice outcomes in sexual assault prosecutions. This paper analyses prosecutorial decisions to proceed with or discontinue prosecution in adult sexual assault cases, based on a survey of 141 Director of Public Prosecutions case files in five Australian jurisdictions. The results indicate that case decisions are primarily based on evidentiary considerations related to the ability to secure a conviction, but they also raise questions about the handling of cases involving prior relationships.
Download or read book Standards Relating to Juror Use and Management written by American Bar Association. Committee on Jury Standards and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Victim Credibility in Adult Sexual Assault Cases written by Denise Lievore and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exercise of prosecutorial discretion is one of the most important but least understood aspects of the administration of criminal justice. This paper provides an insight into the case by case considerations that inform prosecutorial decisions in adult sexual assault cases, through a thematic analysis of interviews with 24 Crown prosecutors in five Australian jurisdictions. The interviews highlight the factors that prosecutors take into account when assessing victim credibility and deciding whether to prosecute. The paper also discusses prosecutors' views on jurors' attitudes to and defence lawyers' use of moral and gender stereotypes, and the problem of victim intoxication or substance use.
Download or read book Jury Trial Innovations written by G. T. Munsterman and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
