DOCSLIB.ORG

Race, Peremptories, and Capital Jury Deliberations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Race, Peremptories, and Capital Jury Deliberations RACE, PEREMPTORIES, AND CAPITAL JURY DELIBERATIONS Samuel R. Gross In Lonnie Weeks's capital murder trial in Virginia in 1993, the jury was instructed: If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved be- yond a reasonable doubt, either of the two alternativ[e aggravating fac- tors], and as to that alternative you are unanimous, then you may fix the punishment of the defendant at death or if you believe from all the evi- dence that the death penalty is not justified, then you shall fix the pun- ishment of the defendant at life imprisonment ....f This instruction is plainly ambiguous, at least to a lay audience. Does it mean that if the jury finds an aggravating factor it must im- pose the death penalty, or that in that situation it has to make a fur- ther decision whether to do so? The first answer is %vrong. That is not the law in Virginia, and if it were it might amount to an unconsti- tutional "mandatory" scheme for imposing death sentences without considering evidence the defendant may offer in mitigation. And yet ajury could easily think the instruction means just that-that a deci- sion that "the death penalty is notjustified" means a decision that nei- proven." ther aggravating factor has been But maybe juries do get it right. Maybe they understand that they have to consider mitigating evidence about the crime and the defen- dant after they have determined the existence of an aggravating fac- tor. That is what the Supreme Court decided two years ago in an- other Virginia case in which this instruction was used, Buchanan v. Angelone,' despite a persuasive dissent by Justice Breyer, who pointed out that in the context of the other instructions that were given it was at least as easy to interpret this instruction to mean that the jury was supposed to consider evidence of mitigation solely for the purpose of deciding whether an aggravating factor exists, and that if they did find that there was an aggravating factor, then a death sentence -as Thomas and Mabel Long Professor of Law, University of Michig-,. Phoebe Ellsworth provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I Weeks v. Angelone, 120 S. Ct. 727, 730 n.1 (2000). 2 The correct interpretation turns on noticing that the verb for die first option in this run- on sentence is "may," and for the second option -shall." The significance of this difference is not likely to leap to the minds of most non-law ers. especially since the instruction does not mention how, when, or on what basis the jury should decide whether "the death penalty isnot justfied." 522 U.S. 269,279 (1998). JOURNAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL LA [Vol.V 33:1 automatic.4 Lonnie Weeks's jury, however, left no room for doubt. After deliberating on the issue of penalty for several hours they sent a note to the judge asking the precise question that the Supreme Court had said this instruction already answered: If we believe that Lonnie Weeks, Jr. is guilty of at least 1 of the alterna- tives, then is it our duty as ajury to issue the death penalty? Or must we decide (even though he is guilty of one of the alternatives) whether or not to issue the death5 penalty, or one of the life sentences? What is the Rule? Please clarify? The judge responded as he had done a few hours earlier to an- other question from the same jury, by not answering. He sent the jury a note saying, "[s] ee... Instruction #2"--the very same instruc- tion that triggered the question in the first place. Judges often do this when they get questions from those they are supposed to instruct. Apparently they believe in an older "don't ask, don't tell" policy than the one that has been in the news: Don't ask me anything, because I won't tell you anything if you do. The Supreme Court, in an opinion announced in January, 2000, was unfazed. In a five to four decision the Court held that "[a] jury is presumed to follow its instructions." 7 And what about the fact that the jury itself said that it did not know how to follow those instruc- tions? "Similarly, a jury is presumed to understand a judge's answer to its question." Which was probably true, in this case. The jury- which already had the judge's instructions in writing, the decipherable and the indecipherable alike-no doubt interpreted the answer exactly as it was intended: "Bug off." The Supreme Court went on to say that "[h] ad the jury desired further information, they might, and probably would, have signified their desire to the court.'' Naturally. They had only been rebuffed by the judge twice, and must have been itching for another chance to have His Honor tell them to stop bothering him and get on with their work. But even if we ignore the unmistakable meta-message and assume that the jurors went back to studying the text of instruction, it is doubtful that after this exchange they somehow arrived at a correct understanding of the very instruction that they could not understand in the first place. Cases like Weeks are not the products of judicial ignorance. It is tempting to think that if the Court had known more about juries it might have done a better job. Perhaps somebody should have told the justices about research that shows that jurors do misunderstand instructions like this one'°-that in fact, they do a pretty bad job of 4 Id. at 281-82 (BreyerJ., dissenting). 5 Weeks, 120 S. Ct. at 730. 6 Id. Id. at 733. * Id. IId. Stephen P. Garvey, et al., CorrectingDeadly Confusion: Responding to Jury Inquiries in Capital Feb. 2001] RACE, PEREIIPTORES,AND DELIBEIL TIOS understanding legal instructions in general"-but that when such in- structions are explained or revised it does help and does affect their decisions. 2 However, I do not believe that would have helped. The Weeks decision is an example of willful blindness, if not hypocrisy. The truth is readily apparent in the majority opinion itself: After de- liberating for several hours, the jurors asked if once they found an aggravating factor they could still sentence the defendant to life im- prisonment; the judge refused to say; the jurors returned with a sen- tence of death. 3 Obviously at least some of thejurors must have con- cluded-erroneously-that they had no choice. But the Supreme Court has the power to ignore simple truths. This attitude is not a new or rare phenomenon. It is a central theme of many appellate decisions on jury decision making- We don't want to know. A We don't want to know what instructionsjurors understand, or what information they remember, or whether they consider evidence that was excluded, or what facts they rely on, or what they say in deliberations, or how they arrive at their decisions. And I don't mean simply thatjudges would rather not be bothered to find out these things; I suggest that they would rather not know even if that requires denying the obvious. The Court's underl)ing theory seems to be something like this: One reason why we commit deci- sions to juries is to get unchallengeable results. Understanding jury decision making does not serve that goal. Viewing the institution as an impenetrable black box is a much more successful strategy. Once we decide that we can't know what juries do, we may safely "presume" that whatever it is, it's okay. Cases,85 CoRNELL L. RE%,. 627, 629-33 (2000) (studying die precise instruction used in tie eeks case); Shari Seidman Diamond &Judith N. Levi, hnprotingDrisonson Datah 1ARThugand lest. ingJuy Instructions, 79 JUDICATURE 224, 225-26 (1996) (studying juror confusion over instruc- tions on aggravation and mitigation). VALERIE P. HANs & NEIL VIDMAR, JUDGING THEJ'RY'12027 (1980); Phoebe C. Ellsworth, Jury Reform at the End of die Century: Real Agrment, Real Changs, 32 U. Mlui. J.L REFORM 213, 215 (1999);JoeI D. Lieberman & Bruce D. Sales, it7,at Soial Scumire Teaches Uis Abaut the Jury In- structionProcess, 3 PSYCHOL. PUB. POL'Y & L 589 (1997); Phoebe C. Ellsuorth. Ire Twiveh Heads Betterthan One?, 52 L4W& CONTEP. PRODS. 205, 223 (1989). 12 Garvey et al., supra note 10; Diamond & Levi, supra note 10; Alan Reifiman ct at.,Real Ju- rors'Understanding of the Law in Real Cases, 16 L.W &HM. BE.LauV. 539 (1992). 13 ieeks, 120 S. CL at 730-31. 14 For example: One enduring element of the jury system ...is insulation fron questions about ho-. juries actually decide ....Instead of inquiring what juries actually understood, and hto- they really reasoned, courts invoke a -presumption" that jurors understand and folloaw their instructions ....It is a rule of la--a description of the premises underiving the jury system, rather than a proposition aboutjurors' abilities and states of nind.... Social science has challenged many premises of thejury systen ....Still. the ability of jurors to sift good evidence from bad is an axiom of the s)stem, so courts not only pemiut juries to decide these cases but also bypass the sort of empirical findings that might help jurors reach better decisions. Gacy v. Welborn, 994 F.2d 305, 313 (7th Cir. 1993): see also United States '. Thors. 116 F.3d 606, 619 (2d Cir. 1997) ("The jury as we know it is supposed to reach its decisions in te mister and security of secrecy.... JOURNAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW [Vol.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Episode Fourteen: Legal Process Hello, and Welcome to the Death
    Episode Fourteen: Legal Process Hello, and welcome to the Death Penalty Information Center’s podcast exploring issues related to capital punishment. In this edition, we will discuss the legal process in death penalty trials and appeals. How is a death penalty trial different from other trials? There are several differences between death penalty trials and traditional criminal proceedings. In most criminal cases, there is a single trial in which the jury determines whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. If the jury returns a verdict of guilty, the judge then determines the sentence. However, death penalty cases are divided into two separate trials. In the first trial, juries weigh the evidence of the crime to determine guilt or innocence. If the jury decides that the defendant is guilty, there is a second trial to determine the sentence. At the sentencing phase of the trial, jurors usually have only two options: life in prison without the possibility of parole, or a death sentence. During this sentencing trial, juries are asked to weigh aggravating factors presented by the prosecution against mitigating factors presented by the defense. How is a jury chosen for a death penalty trial? Like all criminal cases, the jury in a death penalty trial is chosen from a pool of potential jurors through a process called voir dire. The legal counsel for both the prosecution and defense have an opportunity to submit questions to determine any possible bias in the case. However, because the jury determines the sentence in capital trials, those juries must also be “death qualified,” that is, able to impose the death penalty in at least some cases.
    [Show full text]
  • MEMORANDUM ORDER ) Case No
    Case 2:07-cr-00023-EJL Document 284 Filed 02/26/08 Page 1 of 4 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF IDAHO UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Plaintiff, ) MEMORANDUM ORDER ) Case No. CR07-23-N-EJL vs. ) ) JOSEPH EDWARD DUNCAN, III, ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________) Pending before the Court are the Defendant’s Motions to Declare the Federal Death Penalty Act Unconstitutional. The Government has filed a single response to the motions and the time for filing any reply has expired. The matter is ripe for the Court’s consideration. Having fully reviewed the record herein, the Court finds that the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in the briefs and record. Accordingly, in the interest of avoiding further delay, and because the Court conclusively finds that the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument, this motion shall be decided on the record before this Court without oral argument. Local Rule 7.1(d)(2)(ii). Factual and Procedural Background The Defendant, Joseph Edward Duncan, III, was charged with multiple crimes relating to events occurring in northern Idaho between May of 2005 and July of 2005. Three of the counts carry the potential for a sentence of death: Kidnapping Resulting in Death, Sexual Exploitation of a Child Resulting in Death, and Using a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence MEMORANDUM ORDER - 1 Case 2:07-cr-00023-EJL Document 284 Filed 02/26/08 Page 2 of 4 Resulting in Death. The Government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty.
    [Show full text]
  • An Overview of Significant Findings from The
    AN OVERVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS FROM THE CAPITAL JURY PROJECT AND OTHER EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF THE DEATH PENALTY RELEVANT TO JURY SELECTION, PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE AND JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CAPITAL CASES JOHN H. BLUME CORNELL LAW SCHOOL 110 MYRON TAYLOR HALL ITHACA, NY 14853-4901 (607) 255-1030 [email protected] FALL 2008 Introduction The Capital Jury Project Studies--and other less comprehensive empirical and mock juror studies--provide extraordinarily useful information for lawyers involved in capital litigation. In this memorandum, I will provide an overview of selected, significant empirical findings, and, in some instances, offer suggestions as to how these findings may be used by capital defense lawyers. There is a temptation to ignore these studies, in part because some of the information contained in them is not encouraging or goes against the “conventional wisdom.” I am convinced, however, that we are better off confronting the information, and making fresh assessments about appropriate responses. This is not to say that there aren’t methodological problems with some of these studies, nor is it to deny that any individual study fail to capture the complexity of capital litigation. But there is valuable information here, particularly about what can go wrong, and what can be done to avoid some well-established pitfalls. I hope that this memorandum will facilitate the discussion and implementation of creative strategies leading to more effective representation of both clients facing the death penalty and those who have been sentenced to death. Additionally, if you have ideas for empirical research projects in your state that may be of interest to the Cornell Death Penalty Project, please do not hesitate to contact me.
    [Show full text]
  • Language and Jury Decision-Making in Texas Death Penalty Trials
    The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Doing Death in Texas: Language and Jury Decision-Making in Texas Death Penalty Trials Author: Robin Helene Conley Document No.: 236354 Date Received: November 2011 Award Number: 2009-IJ-CX-0005 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Doing Death in Texas: Language and Jury Decision-Making in Texas Death Penalty Trials A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology by Robin Helene Conley 2011 This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • An Overview of Significant
    AN OVERVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS FROM THE CAPITAL JURY PROJECT AND OTHER EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF THE DEATH PENALTY RELEVANT TO JURY SELECTION, PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE AND JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CAPITAL CASES JOHN H. BLUME CORNELL LAW SCHOOL 110 MYRON TAYLOR HALL ITHACA, NY 14853-4901 (607) 255-1030 [email protected] FALL 2008 Introduction The Capital Jury Project Studies--and other less comprehensive empirical and mock Juror studies--provide extraordinarily useful information for lawyers involved in capital litigation. In this memorandum, I will provide an overview of selected, significant empirical findings, and, in some instances, offer suggestions as to how these findings may be used by capital defense lawyers. There is a temptation to ignore these studies, in part because some of the information contained in them is not encouraging or goes against the “conventional wisdom.” I am convinced, however, that we are better off confronting the information, and making fresh assessments about appropriate responses. This is not to say that there areN’t methodological problems with some of these studies, nor is it to deny that any individual study fail to capture the complexity of capital litigation. But there is valuable information here, particularly about what can go wrong, and what can be done to avoid some well-established pitfalls. I hope that this memorandum will facilitate the discussion and implementation of creative strategies leading to more effective representation of both clients facing the death penalty and those who have been sentenced to death. Additionally, if you have ideas for empirical research projects in your state that may be of interest to the Cornell Death Penalty Project, please do not hesitate to contact me.
    [Show full text]
  • War and Peace in the Jury Room: How Capital Juries Reach Unanimity Scott E
    Hastings Law Journal Volume 62 | Issue 1 Article 3 11-2010 War and Peace in the Jury Room: How Capital Juries Reach Unanimity Scott E. Sundby Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Scott E. Sundby, War and Peace in the Jury Room: How Capital Juries Reach Unanimity, 62 Hastings L.J. 103 (2010). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol62/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings Law Journal by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. Sundby_62-HLJ-103.doc (Do Not Delete) 1/7/2011 12:10 PM War and Peace in the Jury Room: How Capital Juries Reach Unanimity Scott E. Sundby* Using data from the Capital Jury Project, this Article takes a close look inside the jury room at the process by which capital juries reach a unanimous verdict at the penalty phase. The Article first examines the relationship between first ballot voting patterns and the ultimate sentence, then explores the dynamics of group interaction in achieving unanimity. In particular, by using the jurors’ own narratives, the piece delves into the psychological process and arguments through which the majority jurors persuade the holdouts to change their votes. This process is especially intriguing because individual juries do not, of course, have any training in how to deliberate and reach unanimity, and yet they are strikingly similar from case to case in how they convert holdouts to the majority position (with striking differences between the dynamics of juries that reach a verdict of death and those that return a sentence of life without parole).
    [Show full text]
  • Future Dangerousness in Capital Cases: Always at Issue John H
    Cornell Law Review Volume 86 Article 3 Issue 2 January 2001 Future Dangerousness in Capital Cases: Always at Issue John H. Blume Stephen P. Garvey Sheri Lynn Johnson Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation John H. Blume, Stephen P. Garvey, and Sheri Lynn Johnson, Future Dangerousness in Capital Cases: Always at Issue, 86 Cornell L. Rev. 397 (2001) Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol86/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cornell Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FUTURE DANGEROUSNESS IN CAPITAL CASES: ALWAYS "AT ISSUE" John H. Blune,t Stephen P. Garveyl & Sheri LynnJohnsonlt- Under Simmons v. South Carolina, a capital defendant who, if not sentenced to death, will remain in prison with no chance of parole is consti- tutionally entitled to an instruction inforning the juiy of thatfact, but only if the prosecution engages in conduct that places the defendant'sfuture dan- gerousness "at issue." Based on data collectedfrom interviews with South Carolina capitaljurors, Professors Blum4 Garmey, and Johnson argue that future dangerousness is on the minds of most capitaljurors,and is thus "at issue" in virtually all capitaltrials, regardless of the proscution's conduct. Accordingly, the authors argue that the "at issue" requirement of Simmons serves no real purpose and should be eliminated.
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of the Colorado Method of Capital Voir Dire Page 1 of 13
    Champion - Overview of the Colorado Method of Capital Voir Dire Page 1 of 13 NACDL Home > News And The Champion > Champion Magazine > 2010 Issues The Champion November 2010 , Page 18 Search the Champion Looking for something specific? Overview of the Colorado Method of Capital Voir Dire By Matthew Rubenstein The Colorado Method of capital voir dire is a structured approach to capital jury selection that is being used successfully in state and federal jurisdictions across the United States. Colorado Method capital voir dire follows several simple principles: (1) jurors are selected based on their life and death views only; (2) pro-death jurors (jurors who will vote for a death sentence) are removed utilizing cause challenges, and attempts are made to retain potential life-giving jurors; (3) pro-death jurors are questioned about their ability to respect the decisions of the other jurors, and potential life-giving jurors are questioned about their ability to bring a life result out of the jury room; and (4) peremptory challenges are prioritized based on the prospective jurors’ views on punishment. The capital defense community traditionally has done a remarkably poor job in voir dire and jury selection. Research conducted by the Capital Jury Project — based upon interviews of more than 1,200 jurors who actually made the life or death sentencing decisions in 350 capital trials in 14 death penalty states — established that: (1) many pro-death jurors who are constitutionally impaired and subject to defense cause challenges nonetheless have served on capital juries and, furthermore, (2) a large portion of the jurors who do serve fundamentally misunderstand and misapply the constitutional principles that govern the sentencing decision-making process.
    [Show full text]
  • Juror Instructions in Capital Cases Theodore Eisenberg
    Cornell Law Review Volume 79 Article 1 Issue 1 November 1993 Deadly Confusion: Juror Instructions in Capital Cases Theodore Eisenberg Martin T. Wells Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Theodore Eisenberg and Martin T. Wells, Deadly Confusion: Juror Instructions in Capital Cases , 79 Cornell L. Rev. 1 (1993) Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol79/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cornell Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEADLY CONFUSION: JUROR INSTRUCTIONS IN CAPITAL CASES Theodore Eisenberg* & Martin 7. Wells** A fatal mistake. A defendant is sentenced to die because the jury was misinformed about the law. The justice system should be designed to prevent such a tragic error. Yet our interviews with jurors who served in South Carolina capital cases indicate that this nightmare is a reality. Although our data are limited to South Carolina, the question whether jurors are adequately instructed in capital cases is of national concern. For example, the issue whether jurors should be more fully informed about the alternative to a death sentence has arisen in other states.' And the question whether jurors understand the burdens of 2 proof in capital cases can arise in any death penalty state. As with many death penalty issues, it is tempting to view the ques- tion of juror instructions solely as a question for resolution by the Supreme Court as a matter of federal constitutional law.3 This narrow * Professor of Law, Cornell Law School.
    [Show full text]
  • The Capital Jury Project: Rationale, Design, and Preview of Early Findings
    Indiana Law Journal Volume 70 Issue 4 Article 2 Fall 1995 The Capital Jury Project: Rationale, Design, and Preview of Early Findings William J. Bowers Northeastern University Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj Part of the Courts Commons, and the Criminal Law Commons Recommended Citation Bowers, William J. (1995) "The Capital Jury Project: Rationale, Design, and Preview of Early Findings," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 70 : Iss. 4 , Article 2. Available at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol70/iss4/2 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Indiana Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Capital Jury Project: Rationale, Design, and Preview of Early Findings WILLIAM J. BOWERS* INTRODUCTION Now underway in fourteen states, the Capital Jury Project ("CJP") is a multidisciplinary study of how capital jurors make their life or death sentencing decisions.' Drawing upon three-to-four hour interviews with 80 to 120 capital jurors in each of the participating states, 2 the CJP is examining the extent to which jurors' exercise of capital sentencing discretion is still infected with, or now cured of, the arbitrariness which the United States Supreme Court condemned in Furman v. Georgia,3 and the extent to which the principal kinds of post-Furman guided discretion statutes are curbing arbitrary decision-making--as the Court said they would in Gregg v.
    [Show full text]
  • Examination of Capital Murder Jurors' Deliberations
    Administrative Issues Journal Volume 4 Article 11 Issue 2 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2: DECEMBER 2014 12-2014 EXAMINATION OF CAPITAL MURDER JURORS’ DELIBERATIONS: METHODS AND ISSUES Keith Price Susan Coleman Gary R. Byrd Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/aij Part of the Health and Medical Administration Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons, and the Public Administration Commons Recommended Citation Price, Keith; Coleman, Susan; and Byrd, Gary R. (2014) "EXAMINATION OF CAPITAL MURDER JURORS’ DELIBERATIONS: METHODS AND ISSUES," Administrative Issues Journal: Vol. 4 : Iss. 2 , Article 11. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/aij/vol4/iss2/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Administrative Issues Journal by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 EXAMINATION OF CAPITAL MURDER JURORS’ DELIBERATIONS: METHODS AND ISSUES Keith Price, PhD Susan Coleman, JD Gary R. Byrd, PhD West Texas A&M University The study of capital juries remains a subject of critical interest for the public and for legislative and judicial policy makers as well as legal scholars and social scientists. Cowan, Thompson, and Ellsworth established one of the standard methodologies for examination of this topic in their 1984 seminal study by observing the subjects’ debate about conviction in a death penalty case utilizing mock juries; other scholars employed different techniques to add more information in the late 1990s. Yet, the question of death qualification and prosecutorial bias remains open to inquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • The Colorado Method of Capital Jury Selection, 54 UIC J. Marshall L. Rev
    UIC Law Review Volume 54 Issue 1 Article 3 2021 Escaping Death: The Colorado Method of Capital Jury Selection, 54 UIC J. Marshall L. Rev. 247 (2021) Sophie Honeyman Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview Part of the Courts Commons, Criminal Law Commons, and the Criminal Procedure Commons Recommended Citation Sophie E. Honeyman, Escaping Death: The Colorado Method of Capital Jury Selection, 54 UIC J. Marshall L. Rev. 247 (2021) https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview/vol54/iss1/3 This Comments is brought to you for free and open access by UIC Law Open Access Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in UIC Law Review by an authorized administrator of UIC Law Open Access Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ESCAPING DEATH: THE COLORADO METHOD OF CAPITAL JURY SELECTION SOPHIE E. HONEYMAN I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 248 II. BACKGROUND ................................................................. 252 A. The Death Penalty ................................................... 252 B. Capital Jury Selection ............................................. 262 1. General Voir Dire .............................................. 264 2. Death Qualification ........................................... 266 3. Excluding Disqualified Jurors .......................... 268 C. The Colorado Method .............................................. 271 1. The Preliminary Ranking Stage ....................... 275 2. The Information-Gathering
    [Show full text]