Exposing inconsistencies in a witness' testimony can affect verdicts, but not always. Berman and Cutler (1996) investigated the exposure of inconsistencies in testimony through cross-examination of a prosecution eyewitness...
Wells and colleagues (1979) explored how the type of question an attorney asks in cross-examination - leading or non-leading - affects whether jurors believe a witness...
Criminal defendants who take their cases to trial face high conviction rates, regardless of who defends them. Harlow (2000) reviewed criminal cases in U.S. district courts and the 75 largest counties in the U.S...
Often, White jurors are more lenient to White defendants, and Black jurors more lenient to Black defendants. These "in-group" racial preferences can dissipate or reverse when jurors want to distance themselves from, rather than align themselves with, a defendant...
In Twelve Angry Men, one strong juror sways a strong majority of 11 other jurors to change their minds. In reality, a minority of jurors effectively influences the majority only rarely...
A witness can testify directly that "After I heard the shot, I made a phone call" or can imply making the call through the indirect statement that "After I heard the shot, I went to the telephone." A witness can testify directly that "I rang the burglar alarm" or can imply ringing the alarm through the indirect statement that "I ran up to the burglar alarm." The actions of phone calling and alarm ringing are affirmed in the direct testimony, and only implied in the indirect testimony. Harris and colleagues (1978) studied the effects of direct and indirect statements in
A witness can testify directly that "After I heard the shot, I made a phone call" or can imply making the call through the indirect statement that "After I heard the shot, I went to the telephone." A witness can testify directly that "I rang the burglar alarm" or can imply ringing the alarm through the indirect statement that "I ran up to the burglar alarm." The actions of phone calling and alarm ringing are affirmed in the direct testimony, and only implied in the indirect testimony. Harris and colleagues (1978) studied the effects of direct and indirect statements in
Takakawa (1999) had members of a jury pool in Hawaii listen to direct examination of witnesses, including speakers of Standard English and Hawai'i Creole English. Jurors judged speakers of Standard English as most credible. Stephan and Stephan (1986) found that non-Hispanic jurors judged Spanish speaking and Thai speaking defendants...
Jurors learn by listening in voir dire. The questions attorneys ask and the answers other jurors provide can educate jurors about due process rights. Middendorf and Luginbuhl (1995) explored whether jurors learned more about due process rights by a judge explaining those legal guarantees or an attorney asking other jurors about those rights in voir dire...
When jurors are asked questions in voir dire, silence is generally understood by the court as a negative response. However, jurors remaining silent in group voir dire are not jurors without bias. A substantial number of jurors do not reveal important information in open court...