Thesis (Ph.D.)--DePaul University, 2005. / Department of Psychology. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-133). Also available online via the World Wide Web; full text PDF file available to subscribers from ProQuest.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2006. / Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 99 p. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines predictors of juror-determined damage awards among 377 juror eligible mock jurors. Citizens reporting for jury duty in a large metropolitan county on five days when the study was conducted were invited to participate. Scenarios were created that varied both case facts and witness emotion during trial testimony. Results indicate that Affect Control Theory can be applied to the situation of juror-determined damage awards and is helpful in scientifically explaining some of the variation of both compensatory and punitive damage awards.

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Television shows, in particular CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, have captured the attention of the majority of Americans. As a consequence of these shows, the "CSI effect" has evolved. The CSI effect primarily occurs when people watch crime or law related shows resulting in them gaining an unrealistic expectation of what they think should occur in real trials. This is a concern for prospective jurors who take part in criminal trials. This thesis will reveal how the CSI effect has swept the nation. A large part of this study will be devoted to illustrating how the CSI effect has had an impact on jurors, criminals and the American court system. This thesis will shed light on how television has the power to alter a juror's mind, even if it is a decision that could completely change the defendant's life. This thesis will also examine how legal professionals have strategically begun to mention the CSI effect during their trials in court. Nowadays, it is an ordinary procedure for attorneys, during voir dire, to question prospective jurors about their television viewing habits, as it pertains to CSI. This study will also examine how the producers of CSI discount the effect in its entirety. The creators believe that their creation has been a helpful milestone in the evolution of our criminal justice system.

The ability of jurors and juries to comprehend and utilise scientific evidence in Australian criminal trials has been examined. From mock jury surveys relating to DNA profiling evidence, it was determined that most respondents were able to comprehend some basic and applied statistics, although their ability was in part related to their knowledge of English and their level of education. The point at which mock jurors were prepared to convict an accused solely on the basis of DNA profiling evidence was examined and found to be low compared with the strength of DNA profiling evidence commonly presented in Australian courts. Mock jurors also demonstrated the ability to process evidence that was presented in a Bayesian framework; commencing with prior odds, introducing new information and culminating in posterior odds. From a survey of Australian forensic scientists, including fraud investigators, it was found that most practitioners' concerns could be addressed by greater pre-trial consultation between experts and legal advocates. Improved knowledge within the legal profession concerning the jargon, principles, procedures, limitations and conclusions to be drawn from different scientific disciplines, prior to presenting this evidence in court, is recommended as the means by which complex evidence can be better adduced from expert witnesses and better presented to juries in criminal trials. Finally, from interviewing actual jurors in criminal trials in the Australian Capital Territory it was determined that where jurors' expectations of scientific evidence, particularly DNA profiling evidence, are not met, high levels of juror frustration and speculation may culminate in hung juries. The adversarial setting of criminal proceedings was also found to produce an environment in which jurors felt that information that would assist them in reaching a verdict was being deliberately withheld. The ability of the jury to ask questions and the allowed nature of those questions were also examined, with the resultant recommendation that juries be given more explicit information at the commencement of trials to inform them about their rights and obligations when asking questions.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Psychology. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

[pt] Essa pesquisa analisa o processo de participação dos jurados no Tribunal do Júri. Se no campo do direito existe uma escassez de trabalhos empíricos, nas ciências sociais, os estudos negligenciam a dimensão prática do trabalho dos funcionários do tribunal, dando ênfase às sessões de julgamento. Esse texto, portanto, está fundamentalmente preocupado em compreender como o Tribunal do Júri é construído socialmente, por meio das ações comuns e cotidianas das pessoas. A pesquisa de campo consistiu num intenso trabalho de observação participante no Tribunal do Júri de Juiz de Fora/MG e em entrevistas com jurados. Analisando a organização do trabalho cotidiano dos funcionários do tribunal, percebe-se que o papel dos jurados nessas rotinas é marginal, tanto pelas tarefas desempenhadas, quanto pela forma que se expressam ao longo dos procedimentos do júri. Essas rotinas – dentre as quais se inserem os mecanismos de seleção dos jurados e de votação dos quesitos – são construídas para fazer a instituição funcionar. Entretanto, como as pessoas não estão interessadas em participar, os funcionários têm de empreender esforços ao selecionar os jurados, buscando fazer o júri acontecer. Nesse cenário, surgem os jurados experientes, que ganham a predileção do juiz por se colocarem à disposição do tribunal, mas que se relacionam muito pouco com a noção de participação popular na justiça, já que utilizam estratégias de legitimação e de construção de identidade, como a criação de uma associação própria. / [en] This research examines the participation of jurors in the jury. Whether in the legal research field empirical research is neglected, in the social sciences the studies disregard the practical aspect of court staff s work, emphasizing the trial sessions. This text, therefore, is mainly concerned in understanding how the jury is socially constructed, through the people s ordinary actions. The fieldwork consisted of participant observation in the jury of Juiz de Fora / MG and interviews with jurors. Through the analysis of the organization of court staff s daily work, it is clear that jurors role in these routines is secondary, both the tasks performed, and the way they express themselves throughout jury s procedures. These routines - among which are included mechanisms for selecting jurors and voting the items - are built to make the institution work. However, as people are not interested in participating, court staff must make efforts to select jurors, trying to make the jury actually happen. In this scenario, there are experienced jurors, who have a predilection of the judge because they place themselves at the disposal of the court. Nonetheless, they have little to do with popular participation in justice, as they use strategies of legitimation and identity formation, like creating a jurors association.

This thesis provides strong, triangulated evidence to suggest that despite many reforms to legislation, policy and training, in an Australian context, there has been limited improvement in the manner by which police officers respond to complaints of rape and treat women who have experienced rape. My research provides insight into a police organisation that is rarely open to scrutiny, and shows that when a woman reports a rape to police, she is less likely to be believed if, for example, she has been raped by someone familiar to her, or if she has demonstrated non-consent in an acquiescent manner. It is within this climate that I conducted my research to gain the perceptions of women who have experienced rape regarding the criminal justice response to rape, the perceptions of support workers from Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASAs) on the criminal justice response to rape, police officers’ perceptions of the manner in which rape is dealt with by police, and the perceptions of potential jurors regarding rape. This research therefore examines the factors which influenced which rape cases were investigated by police and referred to prosecution by police, and the manner in which police decisions were made, based on non legal factors such as stereotypes, myths, individual and collective factors. This thesis comprises four separate but complementary studies and combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Study 1 investigated the perceptions of women (N=6) who have experienced rape regarding the police response to rape in semi-structured in depth interviews. Analysis of this data suggested police officers’ treatment and decisions regarding these women’s experiences were determined by the relationship between the woman and the perpetrator, and by rape myths regarding ‘real rapes’ and ‘genuine victims’. Through focus groups (N=4) with support workers from Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASAs) Study 2 examined the perceptions of these workers regarding the manner by which rape myths and gender stereotypes influenced police officers’ treatment and decisions regarding complaints of rape made by women. In support of the women’s perceptions from Study 1, this data indicated CASA workers believed that police officers’ responses are heavily imbued with stereotypes and myths regarding appropriate behaviours for women, and those associated with mental illness and ethnicity. The data obtained in Study 3 elucidated a more detailed understanding of the influence of rape myths and gender stereotypes on the police response to rape. In semi-structured in depth interviews (N=14) police officers identified factors such as alcohol use, mental illness, the effect of potential jurors’ perceptions regarding a woman, and the relationship between the woman and the perpetrator as influencing their decision making. Police officers also described the manner by which they use these stereotypes to arrive at a ‘hunch’, using intuition to determine the credibility of a woman who reports rape. Through surveys, Study 4 investigated the influence of rape myths and gender stereotypes on potential jurors (N=161) perceptions of what constitutes rape, and provided some insight regarding the attitudes police officers may consider when determining the ‘convictability’ of a rape complaint. The data from Study 4 indicated that potential jurors are less likely to define a scenario as rape when the familiarity between the woman and the perpetrator increased, when the woman had been drinking alcohol and when the woman demonstrated her non-consent in an acquiescent manner. Of critical importance, interviews with police officers indicated they use considerable discretion to act on their hunches and intuition to arrive at decisions regarding the woman’s credibility based on rape myths and gender stereotypes. The triangulation of findings from women’s, CASA support workers’, and from police officers, suggest women who report rape to police are going to be judged by interpretations of the legal definitions of what constitutes rape that are imbued with rape myths and gender stereotypes. My findings illustrate the importance of seeking methods that will improve the substantial under reporting of rape. My findings also demonstrate that if women do have their cases proceed to court, they are likely to be subjected to considerable disbelief as a consequence of prejudicial attitudes within jurors, which are similar to those of police. In response to these findings, suggestions for improvements are recommended, such as specialist rape courts and evaluations of the content of police training. Ultimately, this research illustrates that in 2009 in Australia, women who report rape are subject to considerable uncertainty regarding whether they will receive justice or judgement.

This thesis provides strong, triangulated evidence to suggest that despite many reforms to legislation, policy and training, in an Australian context, there has been limited improvement in the manner by which police officers respond to complaints of rape and treat women who have experienced rape. My research provides insight into a police organisation that is rarely open to scrutiny, and shows that when a woman reports a rape to police, she is less likely to be believed if, for example, she has been raped by someone familiar to her, or if she has demonstrated non-consent in an acquiescent manner. It is within this climate that I conducted my research to gain the perceptions of women who have experienced rape regarding the criminal justice response to rape, the perceptions of support workers from Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASAs) on the criminal justice response to rape, police officers’ perceptions of the manner in which rape is dealt with by police, and the perceptions of potential jurors regarding rape. This research therefore examines the factors which influenced which rape cases were investigated by police and referred to prosecution by police, and the manner in which police decisions were made, based on non legal factors such as stereotypes, myths, individual and collective factors. This thesis comprises four separate but complementary studies and combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Study 1 investigated the perceptions of women (N=6) who have experienced rape regarding the police response to rape in semi-structured in depth interviews. Analysis of this data suggested police officers’ treatment and decisions regarding these women’s experiences were determined by the relationship between the woman and the perpetrator, and by rape myths regarding ‘real rapes’ and ‘genuine victims’. Through focus groups (N=4) with support workers from Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASAs) Study 2 examined the perceptions of these workers regarding the manner by which rape myths and gender stereotypes influenced police officers’ treatment and decisions regarding complaints of rape made by women. In support of the women’s perceptions from Study 1, this data indicated CASA workers believed that police officers’ responses are heavily imbued with stereotypes and myths regarding appropriate behaviours for women, and those associated with mental illness and ethnicity. The data obtained in Study 3 elucidated a more detailed understanding of the influence of rape myths and gender stereotypes on the police response to rape. In semi-structured in depth interviews (N=14) police officers identified factors such as alcohol use, mental illness, the effect of potential jurors’ perceptions regarding a woman, and the relationship between the woman and the perpetrator as influencing their decision making. Police officers also described the manner by which they use these stereotypes to arrive at a ‘hunch’, using intuition to determine the credibility of a woman who reports rape. Through surveys, Study 4 investigated the influence of rape myths and gender stereotypes on potential jurors (N=161) perceptions of what constitutes rape, and provided some insight regarding the attitudes police officers may consider when determining the ‘convictability’ of a rape complaint. The data from Study 4 indicated that potential jurors are less likely to define a scenario as rape when the familiarity between the woman and the perpetrator increased, when the woman had been drinking alcohol and when the woman demonstrated her non-consent in an acquiescent manner. Of critical importance, interviews with police officers indicated they use considerable discretion to act on their hunches and intuition to arrive at decisions regarding the woman’s credibility based on rape myths and gender stereotypes. The triangulation of findings from women’s, CASA support workers’, and from police officers, suggest women who report rape to police are going to be judged by interpretations of the legal definitions of what constitutes rape that are imbued with rape myths and gender stereotypes. My findings illustrate the importance of seeking methods that will improve the substantial under reporting of rape. My findings also demonstrate that if women do have their cases proceed to court, they are likely to be subjected to considerable disbelief as a consequence of prejudicial attitudes within jurors, which are similar to those of police. In response to these findings, suggestions for improvements are recommended, such as specialist rape courts and evaluations of the content of police training. Ultimately, this research illustrates that in 2009 in Australia, women who report rape are subject to considerable uncertainty regarding whether they will receive justice or judgement.