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University of Michigan Law School

1999

Verdicts

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Role Of "Stories" In Civil Jury Judgments, Reid Hastie Dec 1999

The Role Of "Stories" In Civil Jury Judgments, Reid Hastie

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A brief review of psychological theories of juror decision making is followed by an introduction to "explanation-based" theories of judgment. Prior empirical studies of explanation-based processes in juror decision making are then reviewed. An original empirical study of jurors' judgments concerning liability for punitive damages is presented to illustrate the explanation-based approach to civil decisions.


The Interplay Of Race And False Claims Of Jury Nullification, Nancy S. Marder Dec 1999

The Interplay Of Race And False Claims Of Jury Nullification, Nancy S. Marder

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

After the verdicts in the OJ Simpson and Stacey Koon/Laurence Powell cases, many in the press explained the juries' acquittals as instances of jury nullification. However these were unlikely to have been instances of nullification, particularly because the jurors explained that their verdicts were based on reasonable doubt. One motivation for these false claims of jury nullification was the homogeneity of the juries-a largely African-American jury in the case of Simpson and a largely white jury in the case of Koon/Powell. Nullification became the term by which press and public attempted to discredit verdicts rendered by juries they distrusted. A …


Jury Trials In The Heartland, Stephen E. Chappelear Dec 1999

Jury Trials In The Heartland, Stephen E. Chappelear

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Article, Stephen Chappelear draws on his study of civil jury trials in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Columbus, Ohio. He concludes that trial by jury results in justice. Despite the popular belief that juries are modern day Robin Hoods, empirical data suggests that their verdicts are lower than commonly believed.