Author : Shirley Joseph
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 8 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (91 download)
Book Synopsis Examining the Impact of Expert Testimony and Judicial Instructions on Juror Decision- Making by : Shirley Joseph
Download or read book Examining the Impact of Expert Testimony and Judicial Instructions on Juror Decision- Making written by Shirley Joseph and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faulty eyewitness identification has contributed to the majority of exonerations due to wrongful convictions (Yarmey, 2001). Safeguards such as eyewitness testimony and judicial instructions were designed to aid jurors in evaluating this type of evidence (Cutler, Dexter & Penrod, 1989; Greene, 1988; Wells & Olson, 2003). The aim of the present study was to test whether expert eyewitness testimony and judicial instructions improve juror decision-making. Community members and undergraduate students watched a videotape of a rape trial, which varied in the quality of the eyewitness identification as well as the type of safeguard presented. System variables (feedback, lineup instructions, and lineup procedure) were manipulated where participants heard about either good or poor police practices. Additionally, participants were randomly placed in the expert, Henderson instructions or control conditions. Good police practices increased witness ratings in terms of credibility of the eyewitness, detective and defendant. It also increased the odds for a conviction. Henderson instructions did not influence jurors' verdicts.