We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
A Test of Voir Dire as a Remedy for the Prejudicial Effects of Pretrial Publicity.
- Authors
Dexter, Hedy Red; Cutler, Brian L.; Moran, Gary
- Abstract
The present experiment asked two questions: Does prejudicial pretrial publicity produce bias that may impair juror objectivity and, if it does, can extended, defense attorney-conducted voir dire (jury examination procedure) remedy its untoward effects? Subjects were 68 college undergraduates who had or had not read pretrial publicity one week before viewing a mock murder trial. Just prior to viewing the trial, subjects experienced either minimal or extended voir dire. Both pretrial publicity and voir dire produced significant main effects on subjects' perceptions of defendant culpability. Subjects exposed to pretrial publicity perceived the defendant as more culpable than subjects not exposed to pretrial publicity. Subjects who experienced extended voir dire perceived the defendant as less culpable than subjects who experienced minimal voir dire. The interaction between pretrial publicity and voir dire was nonsignificant, indicating that, contrary to our hypothesis, voir dire did not reduce the impact of pretrial publicity.
- Subjects
FREE press &; fair trial; FAIR trial; CRIME &; the press; JURY selection; LAY judges; COLLEGE students; MURDER trials; DEFENDANTS; CRIMINAL defense
- Publication
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1992, Vol 22, Issue 10, p819
- ISSN
0021-9029
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1559-1816.1992.tb00926.x