tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319616996642253456.post8293215173465158785..comments2011-03-02T07:10:56.447-05:00Comments on Mediation Stuff – John Lassey's ADR Web Log: Jury PrognosticationJohn Lasseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15644190869922001847noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319616996642253456.post-73895145846326540762009-10-18T06:33:27.729-04:002009-10-18T06:33:27.729-04:00I am not aware of any actual research on the effec...I am not aware of any actual research on the effect the Internet has had on jury performance; however, I agree with you about the global village analogy. The problem, as I see it, is that there are more and more people around who could care less what the village elder (a/k/a judge) tells them about the rules. In their search for the simple answer to a complex situation, they'll do what "in their hearts" they know is the right thing, not what the judge tells them is the right thing.<br /><br />In one sense, it has always been the case that the side with the the simpler story has the advantage. The new dimension that I feel has been added by the Internet is that there is more opportunity to go out and find an even simpler story! The irony, to my mind, is that with so much more information available, there seems to be so much less understanding of how the system is supposed to work. Justice Souter, in his remarks to the ABA last August, hit the nail aquarely on the head.<br /><br />(I just tried leaving a link to these remarks, but Blogger won't accept it. Instead, I'll revise the original post to add a direct hyperlink.)John Lasseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15644190869922001847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5319616996642253456.post-2277963971525331992009-10-17T13:45:32.295-04:002009-10-17T13:45:32.295-04:00I would be interested in knowing whether there is ...I would be interested in knowing whether there is any research that supports the idea that the unpredictability of jury verdicts has actually increased. I agree with you that the chances that juries will consider information that they are not supposed to consider has increased substantially as a result of easy access to information on the internet, but maybe that just makes the modern jury more like the old-fashioned small town jury where everybody knew everyone and everything that was going on in town, and would take that knowledge into consideration in reaching a verdict. The internet, as others have said, does create more of a global village, and there is a lot more information readily available to the public. Going into a trial, you just have to be aware that jurors are very likely to be exposed to that kind of information. Does that make the result more unpredictable? I wonder.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12552117060181130126noreply@blogger.com