Jurors and Inadmissible Evidence

Paper Summary:

There has been extensive psychological research into the question of whether jurors are able or motivated to effectively disregard evidence ruled inadmissible in a courtroom. This paper explains that as there has been significant variability among these studies, at this time no clear consensus on the matter has emerged. The writer examines how several key factors seem to affect jurors' abilities to disregard inadmissible evidence. The reasoning behind inadmissibility rulings has been found to affect this ability. Measures of need for cognition may predict ability to differentiate between reasons. It discusses how additionally, research has shown attenuating effects of deliberation, suspicion, and in certain cases, judges' instructions to the jury may increase biases. The paper concludes that overall, it seems that jurors are not able to sufficiently disregard inadmissible evidence.

From the Paper:

"The very foundations of the criminal justice system depend on jurors' ability and motivation to base their decisions solely upon legally admissible evidence. Therefore, any evidence ruled inadmissible must be disregarded. However, in cases where such evidence is entered and later deemed inadmissible, it is not completely understood whether jurors are able to disregard this information. If jurors fail to disregard such evidence, there is a danger of incorrect judicial outcomes and sentencing. However, if jurors are indeed able to ignore inadmissible evidence, justice is working in the way it was intended."

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