Deck 13: Section 1: Child Custody Disputes

Question 1

How does inadmissible evidence influence juror decision making?

Answer 1

Main points:
• Inadmissible evidence is biasing evidence that is not directly relevant to the case or cannot be admitted to trial on its merits. It may include hearsay evidence, pretrial publicity information, etc.;
• If a judge deems some evidence inadmissible, he gives the jurors instructions to disregard it and sometimes explains why;
• Despite these instructions, jurors do not just forget the inadmissible evidence: if they consider it important, relevant to the case, and trustworthy, they take this information into account;
• Jurors are especially likely to remember inadmissible evidence if they do not understand why the judge deemed it inadmissible (ironic processes and reactance theory explain why);
• If the evidence is actually unfair or not well confirmed, the jurors do indeed assign less weight to it;
• Jurors are likely to give a lot of weight to previous convictions, especially for similar crimes to the one they are considering at trial.

Question 2

How does the mathematical model of jury decision making differ from the story model of jury decision making?

Answer 2

Main points:
• the mathematical model assume a sort of mental meter or scales where jurors put pieces of evidence and see how they add up and outweigh one another;
• the story model assumes make decisions by trying to put together a causal chain of events that makes sense based on the evidence.

Question 3

What kind of reforms would you suggest to improve the jury trial process?

Answer 3

Possible points:
• Allow jurors to participate in the trial more actively;
• Require judges to give pretrial instructions to the jury;
• Increase the minimum size of the jury;
• Eliminate the majority rule and require jury unanimity in reaching a verdict;
• Allowing jury discussion during trial;
• Requiring the judge to explain jury nullification as an option for jurors.