Jury Decision Making: An Empirical Study Based on Actual Felony Trials

Abstract

Posttrial interviewing was used to examine the possible relationship between a variety of juror characteristics and jury decision making. Sixty-five actual jurors who had participated in 10 felony trials served as subjects. An emphasis was placed on process as well as outcome variables. Demographic characteristics were largely unrelated to both procedural and outcome variables. The findings lend support to the view that jurors are highly involved and responsible people who determine guilt or innocence primarily on the basis of factual evidence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)