Moreover, those who took notes, or those who took the best notes, may dominate jury deliberations. In our mock trials, we have seen situations where one juror who took meticulous notes controls deliberations with his or her version of how things happened.
Focusing on the Trivial. There is an assumption that jurors cannot make the distinction between important and trivial evidence. Writing down and potentially focusing on every little thing makes it difficult for a jury to reach a rational verdict.
Methods to Improve the Use of Note-Taking Many courts have concluded that concerns regarding note-taking can be overcome with proper directives from the judge. Deliberations should not be influenced by the mere fact that another juror or jurors has taken notes. However, studies performed in Wisconsin and Arizona indicate that notetaking did not influenced the verdict, or distract the jurors; notes taken were accurate and did not result in the notetakers dominating non-notetakers in the jury deliberations.
Home Information. Find Attorney. For Attorneys. We Help! Science News. Verdicts Researchers from the University's School of Psychology, led by PhD student Joanna Lorek, conducted tests to examine the associations between the aforementioned individual differences, the amount of critical evidence jurors noted down during a trial, the amount of critical evidence they recalled, and the verdicts they reached.
Recollection Of the study Joanna Lorek, said: "Our findings identify individual differences that are key predictors of the positive relationship between note taking and recall. Story Source: Materials provided by University of Liverpool. Centifanti, Minna Lyons, Craig Thorley. ScienceDaily, 11 March University of Liverpool. Note taking jurors influence verdicts, study finds. Retrieved November 14, from www. While some judges are skeptical that notes will be a distraction or will be treated as evidence itself, it is worth pointing out that the research accounts for those possible drawbacks and finds that the net effect is beneficial.
When your jury is allowed to take notes, there are a couple of ways you should adapt. One thing that you can tell, however, is who is taking notes and when. But if you pay attention over time, a pattern is likely to emerge based on when they write.
The note-takers are likely to be more sensitive to the details and are likely to retain more of what they hear, and both factors will make them more influential during deliberations.
If you see someone write down a critical fact, make a note of that. Later when referring to that fact in closing, look directly at the person who wrote it down.
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