A common question to jurors in voir dire in criminal, and some civil, cases is whether they or anyone close to them has been the victim of a crime. Jurors who are crime victims are often struck on the theory they are likely to side with the prosecution (or plaintiff). In recent research, Culhane (2004) examined whether being a victim of a crime influenced the verdicts of...
Influence styles differ in their power. A low power influence style is hesitant, indirect and unassertive, while a high power style is assertive, dominant and direct. A recent study by Trafalis (2006) found that the influence style that worked best for a female attorney depends on the female attorney's attractiveness and the gender composition of the jury she is trying to persuade...
Some judges are highly nonverbally involved in a trial, while other judges exhibit minimal levels of nonverbal involvement. In a recent study by Burnett and Badzinski (2005)...
The law requires jurors to judge the facts on the basis of what a defendant knew at the time of a traffic accident, not on the basis of information knowable only in hindsight (i.e., after the fact). Recent research has demonstrated that computer animations of traffic accidents...
Gruesome evidence can influence juror verdicts, though the content of the gruesome evidence - verbal or photographic - matters. In a recent study by Bright and Goodman-Delahunty (2006)...
Judges frequently admonish jurors to disregard hearsay evidence,and the strength of that admonishment varies. In a recent study by Lee et al. (2005)...