NCJ Number
165099
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1997) Pages: 5-25
Date Published
1997
Length
21 pages
Annotation
In 25 Canadian criminal trials involving sexual abuse charges, 849 prospective jurors were asked under oath whether they could hear the evidence, follow the judge's instructions on the law, and decide the case fairly and impartially.
Abstract
Knowing only the nature of charges against the accused, approximately 36 percent of jurors stated they could not be impartial. Some jurors explained they had been victims of abuse, others expressed fears for children, while others simply stated they could not set aside a presumption of guilt. The findings are consistent with a body of social science literature about attitudes toward sexual abuse and sexual assault charges. The author distinguishes between prejudices arising from specific pretrial publicity and generic prejudices that cause prejudgments of the case of any defendant perceived as belonging to a general class of defendants who are likely guilty of the crime charged. 75 references and 2 tables