Law Commons^™

Examining The "Csi-Effect" In The Cases Of Circumstantial Evidence And Eyewitness Testimony: Multivariate And Path Analyses, Hon. Donald E. Shelton, Young S. Kim, Gregg Barak

Hon. Donald E. Shelton

As part of a larger investigation of the changing nature of juror behavior in the context of technology development, this study examined important questions unanswered by previous studies on the “CSI-effect.” In answering such questions, the present study applied multivariate and path analyses for the first time. The results showed that (a) watching CSI dramas had no independent effect on jurors' verdicts, (b) the exposure to CSI dramas did not interact with individual characteristics, (c) different individual characteristics were significantly associated with different types of evidence, and (d) CSI watching had no direct effect on jurors' decisions, and it had …

A Fair And Implicitly Impartial Jury: An Argument For Administering The Implicit Association Test During Voir Dire, Dale Larson

Dale K Larson

While many refer to jury selection as a science, others—perhaps more accurately—liken the process to voodoo. The jury consulting industry has exploded over the last thirty years, with many attorneys paying large amounts for voir dire for erratic and unpredictable results and a general inability to detect bias accurately in potential jurors. One explanation for these poor results, even when using the latest findings in the scientific jury selection field, is that the tools currently available to attorneys and jury consultants give us only a partial picture of the individuals in question. Currently, voir dire consists of oral questioning and …

Putting Aside The Rule Of Law Myth: Corruption And The Case For Juries In Emerging Democracies, Brent T. White

Brent T. White

Since the mid-1990’s, international donor agencies and development banks have invested millions to reform post-communist judiciaries in Central Asia and Europe. This investment has been driven by the belief that economic growth and democracy depend upon the “rule of law.” “Rule of law” in turn depends on a well-functioning and independent judiciary. After over a decade of rule of law reform, however, Central Asia is characterized by growing authoritarianism and judiciaries across both Central Asia and Eastern Europe are afflicted by rampant corruption. Both the rule of law and democracy have been elusive. Rule-of-law reform projects throughout the post-Soviet space …

The Plea Jury, Laura I. Appleman

Laura I Appleman

This article provides a call to reform the much-criticized guilty plea process. My original proposal would incorporate the local community into the guilty plea through the use of a plea jury, thus solving a multitude of problems. In a plea jury, a lay panel of citizens would listen to the defendant's allocution and determine the acceptability of the plea and sentence, reinvigorating the community's right to determine punishment for offenders. My goal in this article is to restore the community jury right to its proper place by envisioning its integration into the guilty plea, based on recent Supreme Court decisions, …

Getting Citizens Involved: Civil Participation In Judicial Decision-Making In Korea, Jae-Hyup Lee

Jae-Hyup Lee

Korea introduced civil participation in criminal trials (jury trials) for the first time in the nation’s history on January 1, 2008. The Korean jury system incorporates both the U.S.-style jury system and the German lay assessor system to assess the actual experience of citizen participation in trials during the initial five year experimental phase. This Article first delineates the background history of the introduction of the jury system in Korea and explains the relevant legal provisions. Then the Article discusses problems that have arisen, implications for the future, and important remaining research questions based on the experience of the first …

An Indirect-Effects Model Of Mediated Adjudication: The Csi Myth, The Tech Effect, And Metropolitan Jurors' Expectations For Scientific Evidence, Hon. Donald E. Shelton, Young S. Kim, Gregg Barak

Hon. Donald E. Shelton

Part I of this article defines the "CSI effect", given that the phrase has come to have many different meanings ascribed to it. It emphasizes the epistemological importance of first describing the effect of the “CSI effect” as observed in juror behavior documented in a new study conducted in Wayne County (Detroit), Michigan, and then looking at causative factors that may be related to an explanation of those observed effects. Part II describes the methodology of the Wayne County study, provides a descriptive analysis of Wayne County jurors, and compares the jurors demographically to the Washtenaw County jurors who were …

Another Jackpot (In)Justice: Verdict Variability And Issue Preclusion In Mass Torts, Byron G. Stier

Byron G. Stier

If there are no prior inconsistent verdicts, non-mutual offensive issue preclusion generally allows a finding by a single jury to bar relitigation, in future cases, of the issue by the defendant who lost in the prior case. This approach, however, ignores the possibility that the first verdict delivered may have been an outlier if further verdicts were permitted to be delivered. In mass tort litigation, such a flawed approach may result in critical issues such as defect or negligence being resolved by only six jurors, whose potentially outlier verdict is then applied to resolve the cases of thousands, perhaps bankrupting …

Bankruptcy Law's Treatment Of Creditors' Jury-Trial And Arbitration Rights, Stephen Ware

Stephen Ware