Centuries ago, women could “plead the belly” - argue they were pregnant to avoid the death penalty. It gave rise to the female jurors in Australian courtrooms.
People love to hate bureaucracy, but regulatory agencies play key roles in modern society. Conservatives want to cut back their power, but a political scientist proposes a different option.
On Nov. 12, fashion mogul Peter Nygard was convicted of sexual assaults going back to the 1980s. Research shows that a delay in reporting sexual assault may not impact juries’ decision-making.
In the end, we must accept there are flaws in jury processes. But finding alternatives has proved difficult, hence the reluctance of governments to abandon the status quo.
There’s a divergence in how a trial is conducted, what rules govern it – and the larger issue of racial justice. That divergence affects the legitimacy of any verdict.
Victoria and the ACT just joined other states in implementing judge-alone trials during the pandemic. Such a significant change deserves much more public scrutiny than it has received.
When prosecutors introduce lyrics, they’re asking juries to suspend the distinction between author and narrator, reality and fiction, and to read them as literal confessions of guilt.
To address low conviction rates in child sex abuse cases, reforms were made to allow juries to hear about the past sex crimes of defendants. Not all lawyers agree the changes are good.
Does a fair trial exist in the social media age? The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute has released recommendations around juries and their smart devices.
As the Harvey Weinstein trials start, a psychology scholar explains why jurors may be biased on the question of consent. While the situations examined in these studies are not equivalent to sexual assault, they illustrate a pervasive psychological bias.
James Binnall, California State University, Long Beach
In many places across the US, law prohibits people with felony convictions to serve on juries. Research puts the thinking behind these laws to the test.