Psychologists and Jury Selection
Jury selection is basically a process that involves three stages which include voir dire, developing a list of eligible citizens and choosing those to call in a specific case. Voir dire is an Anglo-Norman phrase that means to speak the truth and is used for prospective jurors who are assessed under oath. In most cases, jury selection starts with venire i.e. The selection of a panel of prospective jurors. Once the panel of potential jurors is chosen from eligible citizens or other sources based on whether it's a federal or state court, another panel of 6-12 jurors is chosen for a particular case. This second selection process is basically conducted for the purpose of choosing a balanced and representative panel. During this process of examination by the judge and attorneys, the partial or prejudiced jurors are eliminated (Flowe, n.d.).
In addition to eliminating jurors related to the case, potential jurors are also disqualified from service for cause. Notably, attorneys are usually given a specific number of authoritative challenges that permit them to eliminate without reason a specific number of potential jurors from the ultimate juror. The three main objectives of the voir dire process in jury selection is to obtain information from jurors, develop relationships between attorneys and jurors, and teach the jury about the prosecution's and defense's case. One of the major aspects in jury selection that has developed in the recent years is the psychologists in the selection process.
Roles of Psychologists in Jury Selection:
Throughout history, psychologists have continued to play various important roles in the criminal justice system. Psychologists have helped other professionals and agencies in the evaluation...
In the jury selection process, psychologists can play the role of advising attorneys and providing them with insights into the process of decision-making of jurors. These professionals can play the role of consultants in the jury selection process to help attorneys in identifying bias through the use of empirically-based procedures. Psychologists can determine how juror characteristics are linked to juror decision making, which in turn helps in identifying the prospective jurors to be excluded from serving on succeeding cases.
Personality Characteristics that Influence Verdicts of Juries:
While the effects of a defendant's characteristics seem to influence jury decision making, there are certain aspects of a juror's personality that are significantly relevant to his/her verdicts. These aspects of personality construct include the significance of juror authoritarianism, believe in locus of control, and believe in a just world (Decaire, n.d.). As compared to low authoritarians, highly dictatorial individuals are more severe or strict jurors. The second personality characteristic that influences verdicts of juries is their own self-perceptions of responsibility which is usually applied in judgments of others. The other characteristic is the juror's perception on whether people receive what they deserve or vice versa.
Scientific Jury Selection and its Effectiveness:
Scientific jury selection is the use of behavioral and social methodical principles in the choosing potential jurors for a specific case (Cleary, 2005). The process of scientific jury selection has not only received much publicity in the media…
