Expert Testimony and Jury Decision Making: An Empirical Analysis

• NCJ Number: 131313
• Journal: Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (Spring 1989) Pages: 215-225
• Author(s): B L Cutler; H R Dexter; S D Penrod
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): SES-8411721
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The influence of expert testimony on juror decision making in eyewitness identification cases is examined empirically with the sensitivity and skepticism hypotheses.

Abstract

Witnessing and identification conditions (WIC), witness confidence, and the presence of expert testimony are varied orthogonally, thus allowing for independent tests of sensitivity and skepticism. Experienced jurors and undergraduate mock jurors viewed versions of a videotaped trial, rated the credibility of the eyewitness and the strength of the prosecution's and defense's cases and rendered verdicts. In the absence of expert testimony, jurors were insensitive to eyewitness evidence. Expert testimony improved juror sensitivity to eyewitness evidence without making them more skeptical about the accuracy of the eyewitness identification. Few differences emerged between the experienced jurors and undergraduate mock jurors. 1 table, 3 notes, and 36 references (Author abstract modified)