The Jury Consultant/Researcher

Many people appear to believe that the forensic psychologist is an individual who deals primarily with criminals and the study of criminal behavior. This is simply not reality in this subdiscipline of the psychological sciences. Forensic psychology deals with all applications of psychological thought towards the criminal justice system. This can include the most front end operations such as criminal investigation and policing to the later aspects like treatment and confinement of convicted offenders. In the middle however is the court system.

There are a number of opportunities for the forensic psychologist to extend his/her influence into court room. The court psychologist may be involved in the evaluation of eyewitness testimony (and thereby eyewitness memory), recommendations of particular lines of questioning that may lead to a more predictable outcome, and the prediction and control of jury behavior and beliefs. This final type of influence, upon jury behavior, is where my particular research experience exists. The jury expert can work in the court room selecting (or challenging) particular jurors for a potential trial or to consult with the attorney's in order to maximize there effectiveness over the juries beliefs. A jury expert can also work in a lab (like me; though I would never call myself an expert) doing research on mock juries (faux juries presented with manipulated trials).

The jury consultant can be a very important member of any defense/prosecution team. This psychologist uses numerous past studies of juror behavior in order to maximize the probability of a juror swaying towards his teams side when it comes time to decide the defendants fate. These consultants can be stunningly accurate and could make or break the trial. A particular example of a selection process involves the defendant's occupation--many jury consultants will immediately protest any teachers that are on the jury. It has been found that such members tend to be more judgmental and are likely to vote for guilty. Secondly, often blue collar workers are removed when possible. Its seems that these members of society tend to see things more in black and white with very little gray allowed (i.e., alternative explanations are rarely accepted).

Jury consultants may also use a number of questions in order to evaluate a jury members personality characteristics. They will often (if working for the defense) try to eliminate anyone they define as having an authoritarian personality. Again these individuals are very judgmental and are very unlikely to sway from there stances. They also hold a large influence over jury members. A new personality measure that is often considered is a person's level of moral reasoning. This involves the level to which a person's moral beliefs have developed. For example, a high moral reasoning will go beyond the law if it seems to be morally unacceptable. They will also be less prejudiced towards racial and socioeconomic differences (something that is a major problem with today's courts).

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic