Pattern jury instructions have been criticized for being less than understandable to the average juror and thus for causing arbitrary juridic decisions. Two studies were conducted to establish whether these criticisms are justified and to find solutions to these problems. Both studies established the validity of the criticisms by demonstrating that the presentation of presently used Michigan negligence instructions is about as effective in helping jurors understand the laws as the presentation of no instructions at all. It was found that by rewriting these instructions in accordance with empirical knowledge of what elements affect perception, memory, and comprehension of language, their effectiveness was significantly improved. Furthermore, it was found that the presentation of instructions both at the beginning and at the end of a case would allow jurors a greater opportunity to focus their attention on relevant evidence and to remember it. The studies demonstrate the urgent need for jurisdictions around the country to improve the way jury instructions are written and delivered, Jf they expect jurors to reach verdicts in light of the law rather than in ignorance of it.
In Jackson v. Indiana (1972), the United States Supreme Court held that the primary justification for detaining defendants who are incompetent to stand trial is to provide them with relevant treatment. Unfortunately, the majority of forensic facilities place more emphasis on treating mental disability than on the specific symptoms that legally define incompetence to stand trial. Since this appears to be inconsistent with Jackson, a study was conducted to test whether a treatment that deals with the specific symptoms of incompetence to stand trial would be more effective. As predicted, 21 patients who received such treatment showed significantly more improvement on an assessment instrument than 20 patients who received the more common form of treatment. In addition, more patients in the experimental treatment group than in the standard treatment group were able to be recommended to the court as competent. Implications are discussed. * We are grateful to the numerous students and colleagues whose assistance and suggestions made it possible to carry out this project. Requests for reprints should be sent to Amiram Elwork, Law-
The issue of whether civilly committed patients should be extended the right to accept or refuse treatment has generated much controversy and litigation during the past 15 years. In general, the current rule is that in nonemergency situations, individuals who are competent to give informed consent to treatment should be extended the right to refuse it. Obviously, the manner in which this rule is implemented partly depends on how competence to consent to treatment is defined and measured. Most researchers have implicitly assumed that an understanding of treatment information is the sole criterion of competence. It is argued that such a definition may be incomplete and is in need of reexamination. Following a review and analysis of the relevant legal and psychological literature, a comprehensive construct of competency to consent to treatment is proposed and future directions for research are discussed.
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