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Misguided Instructions: Do Jurors Accurately Understand The Law In Death Penalty Trials?, Chasity Anne Stoots-Fonberg
Misguided Instructions: Do Jurors Accurately Understand The Law In Death Penalty Trials?, Chasity Anne Stoots-Fonberg
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals’ right to trial by an impartial jury. However, empirical research indicates that the jury system is flawed, especially regarding judicial sentencing instructions. More specifically, jurors frequently misunderstand or misinterpret State patterned instructions. On a more encouraging note, there is evidence that comprehension of jury instructions can be improved. Thus, this research assessed improvement in juror comprehension using revised sentencing instructions. For the current investigation, participants included 201 volunteers called for jury duty in Western Tennessee. Data were generated via a questionnaire, which allowed for the collection of information relating to participants’ …
The Effect Of Prior Consensual Sex Between The Victim And The Offender On The Prosecutor's Decision To File Charges In Sexual Assault Cases., Kimberly Brooke Hollifield
The Effect Of Prior Consensual Sex Between The Victim And The Offender On The Prosecutor's Decision To File Charges In Sexual Assault Cases., Kimberly Brooke Hollifield
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Research has shown that both legal and extra-legal factors are used by the prosecutor in a sexual assault case when making the decision to file charges in the case. However, no study on sexual assault prosecutorial discretion, at this time, has examined the effect of prior consensual sex between the victim and the offender and the affect that it has on the prosecutor’s decision to file charges. Using data from a National Institute of Justice Study on sexual assault case processing, this study tests whether evidence of prior consensual sex between the victim and the offender plays a role in …