American Juries: The VerdictAlthough the right to trial by jury is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, in recent years both criminal and civil juries have been criticized as incompetent, biased, and irresponsible. For example, the O.J. Simpson criminal jury's verdict produced a racial divide in opinions about that trial. And many Americans still hold strong views about the jury that awarded millions of dollars to a woman who spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself. It's said that there are "judicial hellholes" where local juries provide "jackpot justice" in medical malpractice and product liability cases with corporate defendants. Are these claims valid? This monumental and comprehensive volume reviews over fifty years of empirical research on civil and criminal juries and returns a verdict that strongly supports the jury system. Rather than relying on anecdotes, Vidmar and Hans--renowned scholars of the jury system--place the jury system in its historical and contemporary context, giving the stories behind important trials while providing fact-based answers to critical questions. How do juries make decisions and how do their verdicts compare to those of trial judges and technical experts? What roles do jury consultants play in influencing trial outcomes? Can juries understand complex expert testimony? Under which circumstances do capital juries decide to sentence a defendant to die? Are juries biased against doctors and big business? Should juries be allowed to give punitive damages? How do juries respond to the insanity defense? Do jurors ignore the law? Finally, the authors consider various suggestions for improving the way that juries are asked to carry out their duties. After briefly comparing the American jury to its counterparts in other nations, they conclude that our jury system, despite occasional problems, is, on balance, fair and democratic, and should remain an indispensable component of the judicial process for the foreseeable future. |
Contents
Foreword | 9 |
Criminal and Civil Juries in America from | 41 |
Democratic Goals | 65 |
Copyright | |
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accused acquitted African American American jury Andrea Yates argued asked assess attorneys biased capital capital punishment cause charges civil jury claims convicted courtroom crime criminal trials damage awards death penalty death sentence decide decision defendant defendant's dence doctor effects evaluate example expert evidence expert testimony facts federal guilty HUMAN BEHAVIOR injury insanity insanity defense involved issues JOURNAL jurors jury awards jury deliberations Jury Instructions jury nullification jury pool jury selection jury service jury system jury trial jury verdicts jury's Justice killed LAW & HUMAN LAW REVIEW lawsuit lawyers litigation medical malpractice mock jurors murder negligence Neil Vidmar O. J. Simpson pain and suffering percent peremptory challenges person plaintiff pretrial publicity problems procedures prosecution prosecutor prospective jurors punishment punitive damages questions rape reason responsibility role social story Supreme Court testified tion Tort trial judge Valerie victim voir dire witnesses Zenger