Jury Decision Making and Psychological Science: A Give and Take Relationship

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This article talks about the correlations between jury decision making and psychological science and how they effect each other. The author also tries to fabricate what determines the effectiveness of a jury when there are so many factors that  go into the decisions from their point of view.

Among the aspects that effect a juror's decision making, one is the incomprehension of the instructions given to them on how to make a decision. It is noted that often times, the directions are difficult to understand and that leads to jurors explaining them to their fellow jurors.

Another aspect is that they have to remember so much that many other people in the courtroom have laptops and crates of files for. They have to sit there quietly and do their best to make sense of what it put in front of them, and then, usually after days, remember all of it to make a proper decision.

Cases that include injuries are very hard for the jury to judge. Most of the time, the severity of the injury is misjudged.

"Psychological science gives reasons and instructs lawyers that they must strive to make their jury presentations simple, direct, concise, understandable, and authentic."  

-Emily Szentkuti