Law in Contemporary Society

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Legal Magic and Jury Instructions

The Situation

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<		It is very unlikely that jurors understand jury instructions. The use of juries requires citizens selected at random from voter registration and driver’s license renewal lists to understand complicated legal concepts filling dozens of pages, frequently presented only in oral form. Studies have repeatedly confirmed jurors’ failure to understand critical legal theories. A recent study found that only two out of three jurors understood that intent was required to convict a defendant of first-degree murder. (Levin and Emerson 2006). When asked to define “aggravating circumstance,” a large number answered that it was “a circumstance that makes the defendant angry.” (National Science Foundation Capital Jury Project 1997). The sheer number of studies and news articles examining this misunderstanding indicates that it is academic and common knowledge.
>
>		It is very unlikely that jurors understand jury instructions. The use of juries requires citizens selected at random from voter registration and driver’s license renewal lists to understand complicated legal concepts filling dozens of pages, frequently presented only in oral form. Studies have repeatedly confirmed jurors’ failure to understand critical legal theories. A recent study found that only two out of three jurors understood that intent was required to convict a defendant of first-degree murder. (Levin and Emerson 2006). When asked to define “aggravating circumstance,” a large number answered that it was “a circumstance that makes the defendant angry.” (National Science Foundation Capital Jury Project 1997). The sheer number of studies and news articles examining this ignorance suggests that it is academic and common knowledge.
 These facts present three questions.

Revision 6r6 - 26 Apr 2012 - 02:08:14 - DavidHirsch
Revision 5r5 - 25 Apr 2012 - 23:41:20 - DavidHirsch
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