Term
| Why are confessions are compelling evidence in a trial? |
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Definition
-Even retracted confessions influence jury verdicts
-Jurors view confessions as accurate
-Most are valid; but some are false |
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Term
| What are the differences between situational and personal risk factors associated with confessions ? |
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Definition
-Personal: compliance, suggestibility, age, etc.
-Situational: techniques, time of day, etc. |
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Term
| What is the fundamental attribution error? |
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Definition
This occurs when a person tries to explain his or her behavior: there is an overemphasis on personal (dispositional) explanations when things go right and a minimization of situational explanations (and vice versa for when things go wrong)
-Thus, people think confessions from a defendant reflect actual guilt, even if they're redacted |
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Term
| What is the Miranda warning? |
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Definition
-A requirement that police must inform suspects of their legal rights before interrogation
-Warnings protect against self-incrimination
-Right to remain silent
-Anything they say can be used against them
-Presence of attorney & free counsel if required |
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Term
| Why are suspects likely to talk during interrogations? |
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Definition
-Detectives de-emphasize warnings
-Innocent suspects: nothing to hide
-Guilty suspects: don’t want to appear uncooperative
-Suspects may not fully appreciate they are waiving rights |
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Term
| What is being tested to assess comprehension (appreciation) of Miranda warnings? |
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Definition
-“Appreciation” central to valid warning:
-Must recognize nature of police questioning
-Must perceive defense attorney as advocate
-Must appreciate right to silence
-Suspect must understand Miranda language
-Vocabulary may exceed suspects’ reading level
-Mental illness, mental retardation may impact ability to make knowing, intelligent , voluntary waiver |
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Term
| What are the methods that are used to assess comprehension (appreciation) of Miranda warnings? |
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Definition
-Instruments for Assessing Understanding and Appreciation of Miranda Rights
-Assist MHPs in evaluating intelligent/valid waiver of rights at time of interrogation
-Comprehension of Miranda Rights (paraphrasing)
-Comprehension of Miranda Rights-Recognition (recognize rewordings)
-Comprehension of Miranda Vocabulary (define terms)
-Function of rights in Interrogation (describe pictures) |
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Term
| What are the reasons why children may not understand Miranda? |
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Definition
-Age of suspect may require special protections
-Juveniles more likely to falsely confess |
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Term
| What are the reasons why parents encourage their children to waive Miranda? |
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Definition
-Parents may not understand rights
-Pressure children to talk
-Encourage cooperation
-Parents want children to confess |
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Term
| What are the characteristics of the Reid interrogation technique? |
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Definition
-Confront suspect with guilt
-With confidence, repeatedly
-Develop “themes”
-Conditions that minimize guilt; provides explanations
-Interrupt all denials
-Reduces confidence
-Prevents construction of stories
-Overcome objections to charges
-Moral, emotional, factual
-Keep the suspect’s attention
-Proximity, eye contact, touch
-Show sympathy
-Display understanding
-Urge truth telling
-Provide alternative explanations
-Positive (“face-saving”)
-Negative
-Have suspect recount details
-If suspect has “agreed” to one of the preceding - alternatives
-Convert oral statement into written confession
-Get them to sign it! |
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Term
| What are the differences between maximization and minimization strategies in interrogation? |
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Definition
-Maximization (bad cop): Use “scare tactics” to intimidate
suspect to confess
-Seriousness of offense/magnitude of charges
-False/exaggerated evidence
-Minimization (good cop?): Provide false sense of security
-Offer face-saving excuses, moral justification
-Blame victim or accomplice, downplay seriousness of
charges |
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Term
| What are the three types of false confessions? |
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Definition
-Voluntary False Confession
-Confession w/out police prompts
-Attention seeking; protect accomplices
-Coerced-compliant Confession
-Desire to end interrogation, escape punishment, gain
promised reward
-Coerced-internalized Confessions
-Highly suggestive; suspect actually believes culpability
-Easily persuaded: age, naiveté, low IQ, stress, fatigue…
-False evidence |
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Term
| What is the difference between the roles of compliance and suggestibility in false confessions? |
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Definition
-Compliance: tendency to go along with people in authority
-Factor in coerced-compliant false confessions
-Suggestibility: tendency to internalize information communicated during questioning
-Related to coerced-internalized confessions |
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Term
| What is the juror’s task? |
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Definition
| Encode, store, retrieve, and comprehend the judge’s instructions. Then, they must produce a verdict by evaluating the evidence in the context of their understanding of the instructions |
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Term
| Why is a juror’s task is so difficult? |
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Definition
-Personal views and values must be revealed (voir dire)
-Complex testimony, argument, often monotonous and conflicting, must be endured in silence
-Judicial instructions written in a difficult style |
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Term
| Why are jury instructions difficult to understand? |
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Definition
| Judicial instructions written in a difficult style with unfamiliar terms. The concepts must be understood and accurately applied to the facts to produce a legally appropriate verdict |
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Term
| Why are judges reluctant to revise jury instructions? |
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Definition
1. There is a belief that jurors are passive, blank slates upon which instructions may be written and understood
2. Legal tradition: Fear of appellate review |
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Term
| What are the differences between preliminary and substantive jury instructions? |
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Definition
-Preliminary Jury Instructions: Delivered at start of trial; sometimes repeated at the end. Describes duties of the jury and judge.
-Substantive Jury Instructions: Delivered at the end of the trial, they state the laws that govern the case, define legal terms, say how law should be applied, and details standards and burdens of proof |
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Term
| Why did the Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia (1972) rule the death penalty as practiced was unconstitutional? |
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Definition
| They said it was “arbitrary and capricious” |
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Term
| What was the solution that the Court proposed in Furman v. Georgia to make the death penalty constitutional? |
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Definition
| “Guided discretion:” Prosecution has burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that at least one aggravating circumstance (factor) exists. If there is no aggravating circumstance, defendant gets life in prison. If an aggravating circumstance is found to exist, defendant can introduce any evidence of mitigating circumstance |
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Term
| What is the difference between aggravating and mitigating factors in death penalty cases? |
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Definition
-Aggravating Factors are factors about the crime or defendant that argue in favor of the death penalty
-Mitigating Factors are factors about the crime or defendant that argue against the death penalty |
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Term
| Why is it important to conduct research on the comprehensibility of jury instructions? |
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Definition
-Justice
-Increased satisfaction/confidence in legal system
-Enhances role of FBS in legal system
-Improved methods will improve relevancy |
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Term
| What is the basic definition of justice? |
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Definition
| The moral correctness, fairness, peace, or harmony of people's collective conduct–how we interact, share resources, respond to disputes and wrong-doing, and repair harm |
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Term
| Why is legal decision making considered a “human process?” |
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Definition
| It requires a person's cognitive, affective, interpersonal, and behavioral functions but will be colored by the person's attitudes, beliefs, biases, and stereotypes etc |
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Term
| Why has the use of juries around the world been on the decline? |
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Definition
-Trials are increasingly long and complex, making service as a juror a heavier responsibility
-They are no longer necessary to protect the people against the government, since people already have constitutions and democratic power etc |
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Term
| What are the differences between a grand jury and a petit jury? |
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Definition
-Grand jury: large panel of jurors who consider allegations of crimes to determine if further investigation or prosecution is warranted
-Petit jury: (aka trial jury) small group of jurors who serve as a trier of fact that work under the guidance and instruction of a judge |
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Term
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Definition
| A writ issued by a judge to a sheriff directing the summons of prospective jurors |
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Term
| What are the qualifications one must have in order to serve on a jury? |
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Definition
-Adults
-Citizen of the nation
-Ability to read and understand English
-Not a felon
-Does not have a mental or physical handicap that would effect his/her service as a juror |
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Term
| What is the minimum size of a jury and the problems associated with it? |
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Definition
-5 or 6
-Jurors being excused for not following instructions, not being able to attend the full trial due to work or family obligations |
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Term
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Definition
| "To speak truthfully;" potential jurors (venire persons) are sworn in and answer questions posed by the judge of trial parties to expose any potential bias |
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Term
| What are the remedies of pretrial publicity? |
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Definition
-Extensive questioning of potential jurors to determine possible impact of prior knowledge
-Change of venue
-Judicial instruction (ie to disregard information learned outside the courtroom)
-Continuance (delaying the start of a trial) |
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Term
| What is the general processes involved in jury deliberations? |
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Definition
-Jury selects a foreperson
-Review and discuss evidence heard
-Reach (or attempt to reach) a verdict (usually by vote) |
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Term
| What is meant by jury nullification? |
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Definition
| When a criminal jury reaches a legal decision that flies in the face of the evidence presented at trial, either by acquitting a defendant who is obviously guilty or by convicting a defendant who is obviously not guilty |
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Term
| What are the general characteristics of “paradigmatic” models of jury decision making? |
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Definition
-People's thought processes are mechanical or rule-governed
-People are born with a blank slate (tabula rasa)
-Inductive
-Categorize information and perform causal reasoning |
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Term
| What are the general characteristics of “narrative” models of jury decision making? |
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Definition
-People think about the world in terms of stories
-Strive to explain what happened, is happening, will happen
-This in turn determines the person's reaction or action
-People are constantly engaged in the construction of meaning |
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