Situation: You Are Serving On A Jury For A Murder Trial

Situation 1you Are Serving On A Jury For A Murder Trial The Evidence

Situation 1: You are serving on a jury for a murder trial. The evidence presented at trial was largely circumstantial and, in your mind, equivocal. During closing, the prosecutor argues that you must find the defendant guilty because he confessed to the crime. The defense attorney immediately objects, and the judge sternly instructs the jury to disregard the prosecutor’s statement. Although you do not know exactly what happened, you suspect that the confession was excluded because of some procedural error.

Would you be able to ignore the prosecutor’s statement in your deliberations? Should you? Would you tell the judge if the jury members discussed the statement and seemed to be influenced by it?

Paper For Above instruction

The integrity of jury deliberations is a cornerstone of the justice system, demanding that jurors base their verdict solely on admissible evidence and proper legal instructions. In the scenario where a prosecutor makes an assertion—such as claiming a confession exists and is compelling—that is later instructed to be disregarded due to potential procedural errors, jurors face a complex ethical and legal challenge: whether to ignore such remarks or consider their influence.

From an ethical standpoint, jurors are bound by the judge’s instructions, which aim to prevent extraneous influences from swaying their judgment. The principle behind these instructions is that only evidence properly admitted and discussed during trial should inform the verdict. Ignoring inadmissible evidence or irrelevant assertions is essential to uphold fairness and the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Therefore, jurors should be able to set aside the prosecutor's unsupported claim, especially when instructed explicitly to do so. The challenge, however, lies in the fact that human cognition is susceptible to influence; strong assertions, even if disallowed, can resonate in jurors’ minds and unconsciously bias their judgment.

Research in juror psychology indicates that immutable impressions or assertions made during trial can have a lingering effect, regardless of instructions to disregard them (Kassin et al., 2010). Jurors often struggle to dismiss statements that they have heard and processed. Nevertheless, the legal system relies on jurors’ capacity to follow instructions and focus on the evidence. Ethical conduct mandates that jurors adhere to these instructions and do not lend credence to inadmissible statements, such as a purported confession that was excluded due to a procedural issue.

If jurors discuss the prosecutor’s statement and appear to be influenced, or if they are aware that the statement was expressly disallowed, they should bring this to the judge’s attention. It is part of the jurors’ duty to notify the court if the influence of inadmissible evidence appears to affect their deliberation process. This ensures the integrity of the trial is maintained and that the verdict reflects only proper evidence.

In practice, jurors must employ a combination of discipline and ethical judgment to follow the judge’s instructions explicitly. Ignoring inadmissible evidence is critical for maintaining the fairness of the proceedings. Moreover, jurors have an obligation to report any undue influence or discussion of improperly admitted evidence to safeguard the trial’s integrity. Failure to do so could result in a wrongful conviction or an appellate challenge based on juror misconduct.

In conclusion, jurors should indeed be able to and are ethically bound to ignore the prosecutorial statement once instructed to do so. If the jury members discuss the inadmissible statement and seem to be influenced by it, it is their responsibility to report this to the court. Upholding the principles of fairness, justice, and adherence to legal instructions is essential for the proper functioning of the justice system.

References

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