Attorneys frequently ask witnesses leading and complex questions in cross examination that contain multiple parts, negatives, double-negatives, advanced vocabulary and legal terminology. Many of these questions demand a yes or no response. Ellison and colleagues (2010) explored the extent to which witnesses can answer leading and complex questions accurately...
In criminal cases, the defense sometimes argues that the defendant was arrested and tried because of his or her race. This race card strategy seeks to make race salient in order to sway attitudes and beliefs of jurors or judges so as to find the defendant not guilty. Hart and colleagues (2007) investigated the effectiveness of the race card strategy in jury trials...
The severity of sexual harassment is an important judgment affecting jurors' liability determinations and their damage awards. Wayne and colleagues (2001) found that jurors make an overall assessment about the severity of sexual harassment based on three factors...
Criminal defendants can show a range of emotions during trial: remorse, anger, even no emotion at all. MacLin and colleagues (2009) investigated whether a defendant's facial expression affects jurors' verdicts...
Settlement decisions are difficult to make. Cases go to trial and parties sometimes fail to achieve a more favorable result than could have been achieved by accepting an adverse party's demand or offer. Kiser and colleagues (2008) studied settlement decision error rates in 2,054 California cases that were tried before a jury or a judge...
Jury instructions are designed to instruct jurors in the law. Considerable research has examined how well jurors understand jury instructions. In a review of this research literature, Elwork and Sales (1985) found...
Each year approximately 10,000 children testify in the U.S., most often in criminal court about sexual abuse. Research has found that defense attorneys often ask child witnesses complex questions. Evans and colleagues (2009) investigated the effect of complex questions by the defense and prosecution on jurors' verdicts in felony child abuse cases...
Present day social norms cast a negative light on those who hold racist attitudes, and these norms influence how white Americans respond when placed in situations in which race is openly and directly addressed. In two studies, Sommers and Ellsworth (2000, 2001) found that when race is made salient in a criminal case...
Sexual harassment can occur via electronic media as well as comments made face-to-face. Berkley and Kaplan (2009) investigated jurors reactions to sexual harassment occurring face-to-face and by email...
Jurors in personal injury cases must quantify a plaintiff's pain and suffering when awarding noneconomic damages. Plaintiff attorneys typically request that jurors award these damages either by suggesting a lump sum or by using a per diem calculation. McAuliff and Bornstein (2010) examined whether a per diem request or a lump sum request produces the largest jury awards for pain and suffering...