What factors do jurors consider when evaluating the credibility of witnesses? How do jurors understand and account for common trauma responses such as freezing, befriending, anger, dissociation, lack of visible distress, and cognitive impacts on memory and coherence during their deliberations?
Background
The Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice aims to establish an effective, modern person-centred and trauma-informed approach to justice in which everyone can have trust, including as victims, those accused of crimes and as individuals in civil disputes. As such, Justice Analytical Services have identified the theme of ‘Justice Processes & Experiences’ as a research priority. Robust research on justice processes, the experiences of complainers and the accused as well as the functioning of juries will inform work towards this aim.
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This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
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Related UKRI funded projects
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Putting Cognitive Science to Work in the Legal System: An Evidence Based Approach to Testimony Evaluation and Beyond
This programme of research will focus on using methods from law, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how the credibility, accuracy, and overall reliability of eye-witness accounts are assessed in the criminal justice...
Funded by: UKRI FLF
Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Why might this be relevant?
This project focuses on using methods from law, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how the credibility of witnesses is assessed in the criminal justice system, which directly addresses the question.
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Putting Cognitive Science to Work in the Legal System: An Evidence-Based Approach to Testimony Evaluation and Beyond (Renewal)
My FLF project involves a systematic and interdisciplinary line of research drawing on techniques from across fields to examine and improve testimony evaluation in the justice system, and to promote the effective integra...
Funded by: UKRI FLF
Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on testimony evaluation in the legal system, which directly addresses the factors jurors consider when evaluating witness credibility and trauma responses during deliberations.
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Special Measures for Vulnerable Witnesses: Use, Effectiveness, and Improvement
The use of special measures (i.e., provisions introduced by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act, 1999) to support vulnerable witnesses giving evidence in court has recently increased dramatically. Best-practice u...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Keele University
Why might this be relevant?
This project investigates the use and effectiveness of special measures for vulnerable witnesses, which is directly related to understanding how jurors account for trauma responses and credibility of witnesses.