Forensic Psych final

Who are trial consultants usually hired by?

an attorney, occasionally appointed by court

what are most trial consultants trained in?

psychology, but around 40% are trained in other disciplines

are there any licensures or certifications for trial consultants?

no state currently has them

When are trial consultants commonly utilized?

civil cases

ethical issues with trial consultants

-attorneys assume they will unwaveringly represent interests of their client

-enforcement of code of professional standards is limited

-misrepresenting qualifications

-promising too much

-failing to acquire informed consent

-violation of confidentiality

primary areas of consultation (4)

jury selection, witness preparation, organizing the case, and change of venue requests

consultants are increasingly being used for ___

jury selection

goal of jury selection

to seat a jury who will at least be open-minded about and/or sympathetic to the case

challenge for cause

a request to exclude a potential juror due to a specific reason that may affect their impartiality.

peremptory challenge

a request to exclude a potential juror without giving a reason, often used to eliminate jurors who may not be favorable to the case.

What factors are peremptory challenges not permitted to be based on?

race, ethnicity, gender, or religion

systematic jury selection

a method of choosing jurors that involves scientific procedures

Prosecutors like these features in jurors:

-old

-married

-employed

-educated

The defense likes these features in a juror:

-members of the helping professions

-minorities

systematic methods for jury selection

-out of court investigations

-community surveys

-shadow juries

-focus groups

-mock juries

case-specific approach

approach that looks at measurable characteristics of jurors related to the facts of the case

alternative approach to case-specific

look at broad attitudes and traits

juror bias

every verdict is influenced by idiosyncratic assumptions that stem from personal experience

2 primary focuses in measures of juror bias

authoritarianism (should authorities be followed) and pro-prosecution vs pro-defense orientation

Legal Attitudes Questionnaire

first systematic measure for assessing juror bias, measures tendency towards authoritarianism

Juror Bias Scale

measures bias to favor prosecution or defense, measures probability of commission and reasonable doubt

probability of commision

how likely is it that the defendant committed this crime?

reasonable doubt

threshold of certainty deemed necessary for conviction, jurors apply their own standard for this

if probability of commission exceeds level of doubt…

the juror is likely to convict the defendant.

Pretrial Juror Attitude Questionnaire (PJAQ) measures:

-conviction proneness

-system confidence

-cynicism towards defense

-social justice

racial bias

-innate criminality

What are common attitudes about personal responsibility?

-most have a strong belief in this

-most attribute plaintiffs with greed

What are common attitudes about corporate responsibility?

-some are anti-business and want to defend powerless individual

-others believe businesses are hampered too much by regulations/law

Legal psychologists are divided about …

how effective scientific jury selection is

What is the clearest determinant of jury verdicts?

quality of evidence

jury tampering

contacting prospective jurors outside of the courtroom

jury tampering has been considered…

contempt of court

supplemental juror questionnaires

questions prospective jurors answer in writing before jury selection

advantages of supplemental juror questionnaires

save time during voir dire and give both sides equal access to info

there is ____ evidence of the ability of scientific jury selection to affect verdicts

no clear and convincing

What may ruin a defendant’s chance for a fair trial?

Pretrial publicity and biases.

Studies with mock juries suggest an increase in conviction rate from ______ with pretrial publicity

45-59%

change of venue requests

legal motions made to transfer a trial to a different location to ensure a fair trial, often due to concerns about pretrial publicity influencing juror biases.

Who typically requests change of venue?

the defense

popular change of venue requests

-4 LAPD officers with Rodney King incident

-OKC bomber Timothy McVeigh

-Beltway snipers Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad

2 critical issues in change of venue requests

-has the pretrial publicity been pervasive?

-has it been one-sided enough to bias potential jurors?

What do psychologists use to determine the impact of the publicity?

survey research and sources of biases

What do the community surveys determine?

the extent of knowledge about the case and prejudgment about guilt

What do consultants testify?

-survey results and conclusions

-research that prior info can influence verdicts

sequestered voir dire

alternative to change of venue, judge individually questions each juror to inquire about biases

Irwin v Dowd (1961)

the Supreme Court said statements of impartiality can be given little weight

More knowledge about the case is usually associated with…

increased assumptions of guilt

detrimental pretrial publicity includes:

-reports of involvements in past crimes

-reports of prior convictions

-confessions by the defendant

focus of witness prep

communicating effectively

witness prep methods

-fix presentation style

-analyze substance

-videotape for feedback

-acquire feedback from mock juries

-bolster confidence

is witness prep ethical?

there are mixed feelings, most believe it’s important to avoid telling the witness what to say

3 aspects consultants focus on in trial presentation

opening statements, presentation of evidence, closing statements

defense approaches to opening statement

tell their story, reconstruction strategy, redefinition strategy

reconstruction strategy

challenge prosecution’s story by pointing out inconsistencies or missing elements

redefinition strategy

reconstrue elements to offer different interpretations of prosecution’s story

narrative coherence

the logical consistency and believable structure of a story presented in court.

narrative fidelity

the degree to which a story presented in court fits with the audience’s sense of reality

research clearly shows that ______ is better timing for defense opening statement

the earlier the better; after prosecution’s opening statement

____ has a strong impact on attitude formation

initial information

making concessions

the defense must decide whether to concede weaknesses in their case during the opening statement or leave it to the other side to expose them

stealing thunder theory

is a strategy where a party presents unfavorable information about themselves before it can be revealed by the opposition, thus reducing its impact.

what is stealing thunder theory based on?

the inoculation theory

sponsorship theory

method where you don’t reveal negative information as to not give that information any credence. This theory suggests that by withholding negative information, the defense can prevent it from gaining emphasis or influence in the case.

Which theory about concessions does research support?

stealing thunder, managing the information early on weakens the damage

serial position effect

a cognitive phenomenon where people remember the first and last items in a series better than those in the middle.

the longer the trial, the greater the likelihood of___

a recency effect

expository approach

compare the 2 opposing views on the same issues to explain why your story is better than theirs

most democracies in _____ don’t recognize the death penalty

the Western hemisphere

common execution methods in countries other than the US

hanging, shooting, beheading

when did the Supreme Court strike down the death penalty?

1972

Why did the Supreme Court strike down the death penalty at one point?

Concerns over arbitrary application

When was the death penalty reinstated?

1976

A recent poll shows ____ of Americans are in favor of capital punishment and _____ are opposed

55% and 43%

what are the two phases of capital trials?

guilt-determination phase and sentencing phase

What do jurors consider during the sentencing phase?

aggravating and mitigating factors

defendants are sentenced to execution in around ___ of capital cases

20%

How many aggravating circumstances typically need to be present for a jury to agree on capital punishment?

One or more

common aggravating factors

-murder of law enforcement official

-murder after kidnapping

-heinous murder or torture

-history of violence

-murder for hire

-murder of 2 or more people

common mitigating factors

-no significant prior criminal record

-youth

-extreme emotion

-limited consequences of act

-intellectual disability

possible roles of psychologists with capital cases

-trial competence

-MSO evaluation

-change of venue requests

-death-qualification of jury/ jury selection

-mitigation assessment

-competency for execution

What is a death-qualified jury?

jurors are willing to choose the death penalty if necessary

Who was an example shown in class of not being competent for execution?

Scott Panetti

Ford v Wainwright (1986)

A landmark Supreme Court case that ruled it is unconstitutional to execute individuals who are insane and unable to understand the reason for their execution.

Atkins v Virginia (2002)

A landmark Supreme Court case that determined executing individuals with intellectual disabilities is unconstitutional, establishing that such executions violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Children as young as ___ have been put on death row

15

Stanford v Kentucky (1989)

Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of a 16 year old

Roper v Simmons (2005)

Supreme Court ruled that executing individuals who were under 18 at the time of their crimes is unconstitutional.

how many states have executed minors?

21

Witherspoon v Illinois (1968)

Ruled to exclude only those potential jurors that indicate unequivocal opposition to death penalty

Death-qualified juries are more ____ prone

conviction

What ruling upheld the use of death-qualified juries despite the research?

Lockhart v McCree (1986)

states with the death penalty have ___ murder rates than states without it

higher

brutalization effect

refers to the increase in violent crime and murder rates that can occur after a state enacts the death penalty, suggesting its presence may desensitize the public to violence.