TY - JOUR
T1 - Science in the jury box
T2 - Jurors' comprehension of mitochondrial DNA evidence
AU - Hans, Valerie P.
AU - Kaye, David H.
AU - Dann, B. Michael
AU - Farley, Erin J.
AU - Albertson, Stephanie
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments The research project was funded by Grant No. 2002-IJ-CX-0026 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, and a Cornell Law School research grant to Valerie Hans. Points of view expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The authors wish to express our appreciation to the judges and staff of the Superior Court of Delaware in New Castle County.
Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - Questions about how jurors understand and apply scientific evidence were addressed in a mock jury study in which 480 jury pool members watched a videotaped mock trial that included expert testimony about mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evidence purportedly linking a defendant to a crime. Collectively, jurors showed moderately good comprehension of the mtDNA evidence, although some made definitional and inferential errors. Comprehension was better among jurors with higher educational attainment and more mathematics and science courses. Lower comprehension was associated with jurors' reservations about science and concerns about the contamination of mtDNA evidence. The results suggest that most jurors are capable of comprehending and employing scientific evidence presented during trial, although errors and doubts about the evidence should be anticipated.
AB - Questions about how jurors understand and apply scientific evidence were addressed in a mock jury study in which 480 jury pool members watched a videotaped mock trial that included expert testimony about mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) evidence purportedly linking a defendant to a crime. Collectively, jurors showed moderately good comprehension of the mtDNA evidence, although some made definitional and inferential errors. Comprehension was better among jurors with higher educational attainment and more mathematics and science courses. Lower comprehension was associated with jurors' reservations about science and concerns about the contamination of mtDNA evidence. The results suggest that most jurors are capable of comprehending and employing scientific evidence presented during trial, although errors and doubts about the evidence should be anticipated.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10979-010-9222-8
DO - 10.1007/s10979-010-9222-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 20461543
AN - SCOPUS:79952361828
VL - 35
SP - 60
EP - 71
JO - Law and Human Behavior
JF - Law and Human Behavior
SN - 0147-7307
IS - 1
ER -