WORKSHOP: Conference on the Future of Jury Research (Two day workshop @ CUNY)

Cuny John Jay College Of Criminal Justice, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Research on juror and jury decision-making has proliferated over the past 45 years since the publication of the classic monograph, The American jury (Kalven & Zeisel, 1966). Although the scholarship on juries is clearly characterized by quantity, some have expressed concerns over the variability of the quality of research generated in this area. The proposed conference will bring together leaders and emerging leaders in the field of jury research for a conversation about the future of jury research. Participants will come from a variety of disciplines, including law, psychology, sociology, economics, and criminology. This interdisciplinary group will address important questions that remain unresolved in the area, identify new questions of theoretical and practical importance, assess the contributions of theoretical models of individual and group decision making, evaluate methodological variance across studies and paradigms, and discuss the challenges to ecological validity in current and future research efforts. Improving the quality of research on jury behavior has the potential to increase the impact of the research on legal practice and decisions, as well as improve the justice received by plaintiffs, complainants, and defendants participating in jury trials. In addition, the discussions of interesting and important research questions and debates about appropriate methodologies could impact graduate training in law and social science, influencing the quality of work produced by the next generation of scholars. The conference will be held at a Hispanic Serving Institution and we will provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to attend the conference and benefit from the discussions.