Campus Units
Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE)"
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
2-21-2019
Journal or Book Title
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Volume
64
Issue
5
First Page
1379
Last Page
1388
DOI
10.1111/1556-4029.14031
Abstract
Contextual bias has been widely discussed as a possible problem in forensic science. The trial simulation experiment reported here examined reactions of jurors at a county courthouse to cross‐examination and arguments about contextual bias in a hypothetical case. We varied whether the key prosecution witness (a forensic odontologist) was cross‐examined about the subjectivity of his interpretations and about his exposure to potentially biasing task‐irrelevant information. Jurors found the expert less credible and were less likely to convict when the expert admitted that his interpretation rested on subjective judgment, and when he admitted having been exposed to potentially biasing task‐irrelevant contextual information (relative to when these issues were not raised by the lawyers). The findings suggest, however, that forensic scientists can immunize themselves against such challenges and maximize the weight jurors give their evidence by adopting context management procedures that blind them to task‐irrelevant information.
Copyright Owner
American Academy of Forensic Sciences
Copyright Date
2019
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Thompson, William C. and Scurich, Nicholas, "How Cross‐Examination on Subjectivity and Bias Affects Jurors’ Evaluations of Forensic Science Evidence" (2019). CSAFE Publications. 54.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/csafe_pubs/54
Comments
This is a manuscript of an article published as Thompson, William C., and Nicholas Scurich. "How cross‐examination on subjectivity and bias affects jurors’ evaluations of forensic science evidence." Journal of forensic sciences 64, no. 5 (2019): 1379-1388. Posted with permission of CSAFE.