American juries : the verdict / Neil Vidmar & Valerie P. Hans.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vidmar, Neil.

Contributor:

Hans, Valerie P.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jury--United States.

Jury.

Verdicts.

United States.

Verdicts--United States.

Damages--United States.

Damages.

Physical Description:

428 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 2007.

Summary:

This monumental and comprehensive volume reviews more than 50 years of empirical research on civil and criminal juries and returns a verdict that strongly supports the jury system.

Contents:

The English origins of the modern jury: from trial by ordeal to the decline of the "little parliament"

Criminal and civil juries in America from colonial times to the present day: evolution, a heroic role, and controversy

A jury of peers: democratic goals

Jury selection: juror bias, juror challenges, and trial consultants

Problem cases: pretrial publicity

The tasks of the jury: evidence evaluation and jury decision-making processes

Judging the jury: evaluating jurors' comprehension of evidence and law

Trials in a scientific age: juries judging experts

Judging criminal responsibility: erroneous convictions, the CSI effect, and the victim's role

Deciding insanity: mad or bad?

Jury nullification: the war with the law

Death is different: juries and capital punishment

Civil liability: plaintiff vs. defendant in the eyes of the jury

Deciding compensatory damages: million dollar questions

Punitive damages: coffee spills and Marlboro cigarettes

Juries and medical malpractice: antidoctor, incompetent, and irresponsible?

Concluding: the verdict on juries.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-397) and index.

ISBN:

9781591025887

1591025885

OCLC:

152560274