Question 1

Research evidence suggests that, when judges and juries disagree on a verdict:

Accepted Answer

Research evidence suggests that juries are more likely to acquit defendants or award lesser sentences than judges. This is because juries tend to sympathize with the defendant and may be more influenced by emotional factors in the case. Judges, on the other hand, are more likely to follow the law and impose harsher sentences. Therefore, when there is a disagreement between judges and juries, it is more likely that the jury has opted for a more lenient verdict.

Question 2

Interestingly, the author notes that approximately _____ of deliberation time is devoted to evidence, whereas about _____ is dedicated to the law and judges' instructions.

Accepted Answer

According to the passage, approximately 70-75% of deliberation time is devoted to evidence, whereas about 20% is dedicated to the law and judges' instructions.

Question 3

Preinstructions given to a jury before the beginning of a trial appear to provide a useful schema that makes jurors:

Accepted Answer

The preinstructions given to a jury before the beginning of a trial are meant to educate jurors about the law and provide them with a framework to evaluate evidence. This can lead jurors to evaluate evidence differently than they would without the preinstructions.

Question 4

When jurors change their votes under the pressure from other jurors, even though they did not change their minds, this phenomenon is also referred to as:

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is referred to as normative influence, which occurs when individuals conform to the influence of a group to be accepted or approved. The jurors may feel pressured to change their vote to fit in with the group or avoid conflict, even if they still hold their original opinions.

Question 5

Juries may base their verdicts on reasoning that ignores or goes beyond the law. This phenomenon is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Jury nullification is when a jury decides to acquit a defendant even though they believe they are guilty because they feel the law is unjust or is being applied unfairly. This can occur when the defendant is being charged with a victimless crime or if the punishment for the crime is seen as too severe. It is often seen as controversial because it allows juries to essentially act as lawmakers, going against the established legal system.

Question 6

The foreperson of a jury is regarded as its leader. However, a foreperson may or may not exert disproportionate influence on a verdict. In fact, he or she may become more focused on the _____ and on acting as a(n)_____.

Accepted Answer

The question is asking about the potential focus of a foreperson and their role within the jury, and choice B best addresses this by suggesting that a foreperson may become more focused on procedural issues and acting as a moderator rather than exerting disproportionate influence on the verdict or being seen as a strong juror or expert witness.

Question 7

In the case of a split jury, where half favor "guilty" and the other half favor "not guilty" on the initial vote, it is more likely that the final verdict will be _____. This tendency is also referred to as the _____ bias.

Accepted Answer

When a jury initially splits, there is a tendency for jurors to become more lenient toward the defendant in further deliberations, which may lead to a final verdict of "not guilty." This is known as the leniency bias. Therefore, C) "not guilty" is the most likely final verdict when a jury initially splits.

Question 8

_____ occurs when group pressure results in holdout jurors changing their votes.

Accepted Answer

Normative influence occurs when people conform to the expectations or norms of a group to gain social acceptance, avoid rejection or disapproval, or gain a sense of belonging. In this scenario, holdout jurors may feel pressured to change their votes to align with the group consensus in order to avoid social rejection. This is different from informational influence, where people conform to the opinions or behaviors of others because they believe that the others have more accurate information. Open conflict and reactance influence are not applicable in this scenario.

Question 9

Differences in opinion among members often occur. At this point, various coalitions may develop among jury members. This may even lead to attacks against each other. A common term for this phenomenon is:

Accepted Answer

The term for this phenomenon is open conflict, as this describes the situation where jury members are openly attacking each other due to differences in opinion. Informational influence and normative influence refer to different types of group influence, while leniency bias relates to a tendency to be overly lenient in verdicts.

Question 10

According to the text, approximately _____ of jury trials in the United States result in a hung jury.

Accepted Answer

According to the text, "statistics suggest that fewer than 10 percent of all jury trials result in a hung jury, but some experts estimate that the rate is as high as 6 or 7 percent." Therefore, the best choice is B, which is less than 7%.

Question 11

A "hung" jury:

Accepted Answer

A "hung" jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict, meaning that at least one juror is unable to agree with the others on a decision. This can lead to mistrials or retrials.

Question 12

Unanimity is required by _____ states in capital murder trials.

Accepted Answer

Unanimity is required by all 50 states in capital murder trials, meaning that all jurors must agree on the verdict of guilty or not guilty.

Question 13

In a post verdict survey, it was discovered that _____ of jurors stated that they had adequate opportunities to express their views.

Accepted Answer

The statement implies that a high percentage of jurors felt like they had adequate opportunities to express their views. "Over 95%" is the only answer choice that accurately reflects this.

Question 14

According to the text, juries that required unanimity to reach a decision, deliberate _____, and are also more likely to _____.

Accepted Answer

The text states that juries that require unanimity to reach a decision deliberate longer, and are also more likely to hang (be unable to reach a decision). Therefore, option B is the best choice. Option A is contradicted by the text, which implies that longer deliberation times may lead to a greater consideration of evidence. Option C is not mentioned in the text. Option D contradicts the text, which suggests that requiring unanimity leads to longer deliberation times, not faster ones.

Question 15

Evidence has shown that judges are susceptible to the same interferences with impartiality as are jurors. According to the text, researchers discovered that judges accepted the recommendation of the parole officer about _____ of the time.

Accepted Answer

The text states that researchers found that judges accepted the recommendation of the parole officer about 85% of the time, indicating that judges are somewhat susceptible to outside influences when making decisions.

Question 16

During the deliberation process, two distinct styles are evident. These two styles are _____ and _____.

Accepted Answer

The two styles evident during the deliberation process are verdict-driven style and evidence-driven style, as stated in option A. The verdict-driven style focuses on reaching a quick decision based on a desired outcome, while the evidence-driven style concentrates on analyzing evidence and arriving at a conclusion based on the facts presented.

Question 17

When jurors change their minds through the compelling arguments of other jurors, this phenomenon is also referred to as:

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon of jurors changing their minds due to the convincing arguments of other jurors is known as informational influence. This occurs when individuals look to others for information and guidance in order to reach an accurate and informed decision. Open conflict is the opposite of this, involving arguments and disagreements between jurors that can hinder decision-making. Normative influence is when individuals conform their behavior to fit in with a group, while leniency bias refers to a tendency to be more forgiving or lenient in one's judgments.

Question 18

Contrary to popular opinion, a survey administered to jurors after a verdict was reached, revealed that _____ agreed that the deliberation process was rigorous and demonstrated both equality and mutual respect.

Accepted Answer

The survey revealed that over 90% of jurors agreed that the deliberation process was rigorous and demonstrated both equality and mutual respect, meaning that the majority of jurors had a positive view of the deliberation process.

Quiz 13: Section 2: Child Custody Disputes

Research evidence suggests that, when judges and juries disagree on a verdict:

Interestingly, the author notes that approximately _ of deliberation time is devoted to evidence, whereas about _ is dedicated to the law and judges' instructions.

Preinstructions given to a jury before the beginning of a trial appear to provide a useful schema that makes jurors:

When jurors change their votes under the pressure from other jurors, even though they did not change their minds, this phenomenon is also referred to as:

Juries may base their verdicts on reasoning that ignores or goes beyond the law. This phenomenon is referred to as:

The foreperson of a jury is regarded as its leader. However, a foreperson may or may not exert disproportionate influence on a verdict. In fact, he or she may become more focused on the _ and on acting as a(n) _.

In the case of a split jury, where half favor "guilty" and the other half favor "not guilty" on the initial vote, it is more likely that the final verdict will be _. This tendency is also referred to as the _ bias.

_____ occurs when group pressure results in holdout jurors changing their votes.

Differences in opinion among members often occur. At this point, various coalitions may develop among jury members. This may even lead to attacks against each other. A common term for this phenomenon is:

According to the text, approximately _____ of jury trials in the United States result in a hung jury.

A "hung" jury:

Unanimity is required by _____ states in capital murder trials.

In a post verdict survey, it was discovered that _____ of jurors stated that they had adequate opportunities to express their views.

According to the text, juries that required unanimity to reach a decision, deliberate _, and are also more likely to _.

Evidence has shown that judges are susceptible to the same interferences with impartiality as are jurors. According to the text, researchers discovered that judges accepted the recommendation of the parole officer about _____ of the time.

During the deliberation process, two distinct styles are evident. These two styles are _ and _.

When jurors change their minds through the compelling arguments of other jurors, this phenomenon is also referred to as:

Contrary to popular opinion, a survey administered to jurors after a verdict was reached, revealed that _____ agreed that the deliberation process was rigorous and demonstrated both equality and mutual respect.

Quiz 13: Section 2: Child Custody Disputes

Research evidence suggests that, when judges and juries disagree on a verdict:

Interestingly, the author notes that approximately _____ of deliberation time is devoted to evidence, whereas about _____ is dedicated to the law and judges' instructions.

Preinstructions given to a jury before the beginning of a trial appear to provide a useful schema that makes jurors:

When jurors change their votes under the pressure from other jurors, even though they did not change their minds, this phenomenon is also referred to as:

Juries may base their verdicts on reasoning that ignores or goes beyond the law. This phenomenon is referred to as:

The foreperson of a jury is regarded as its leader. However, a foreperson may or may not exert disproportionate influence on a verdict. In fact, he or she may become more focused on the _____ and on acting as a(n) _____.

In the case of a split jury, where half favor "guilty" and the other half favor "not guilty" on the initial vote, it is more likely that the final verdict will be _____. This tendency is also referred to as the _____ bias.

_____ occurs when group pressure results in holdout jurors changing their votes.

Differences in opinion among members often occur. At this point, various coalitions may develop among jury members. This may even lead to attacks against each other. A common term for this phenomenon is:

According to the text, approximately _____ of jury trials in the United States result in a hung jury.

A "hung" jury:

Unanimity is required by _____ states in capital murder trials.

In a post verdict survey, it was discovered that _____ of jurors stated that they had adequate opportunities to express their views.

According to the text, juries that required unanimity to reach a decision, deliberate _____, and are also more likely to _____.

Evidence has shown that judges are susceptible to the same interferences with impartiality as are jurors. According to the text, researchers discovered that judges accepted the recommendation of the parole officer about _____ of the time.

During the deliberation process, two distinct styles are evident. These two styles are _____ and _____.

When jurors change their minds through the compelling arguments of other jurors, this phenomenon is also referred to as:

Contrary to popular opinion, a survey administered to jurors after a verdict was reached, revealed that _____ agreed that the deliberation process was rigorous and demonstrated both equality and mutual respect.

Interestingly, the author notes that approximately _ of deliberation time is devoted to evidence, whereas about _ is dedicated to the law and judges' instructions.

The foreperson of a jury is regarded as its leader. However, a foreperson may or may not exert disproportionate influence on a verdict. In fact, he or she may become more focused on the _ and on acting as a(n) _.

In the case of a split jury, where half favor "guilty" and the other half favor "not guilty" on the initial vote, it is more likely that the final verdict will be _. This tendency is also referred to as the _ bias.

According to the text, juries that required unanimity to reach a decision, deliberate _, and are also more likely to _.

During the deliberation process, two distinct styles are evident. These two styles are _ and _.