From the Headlines to the Jury Room: An Examination of the Impact of Pretrial Publicity on Jurors and Juries

Misinformation encountered during a simulated jury deliberation can distort jurors' memory of a trial and bias their verdicts

“…Studies also show that exposure to pro-prosecution misinformation, via pre-trial publicity (PTP) surrounding a trial, can distort jurors' recollection of a trial and bias their verdicts (see Ruva, 2018, for a review) 1 . More specifically, jurors exposed to pro-prosecution PTP can commit source monitoring errors whereby they incorrectly remember the PTP as appearing during the trial and, importantly, those who misattribute the most PTP to the trial are most likely to believe the accused is guilty (e.g., Ruva & Guenther, 2015Ruva & McEvoy, 2008;Ruva, McEvoy, & Bryant, 2007;see Johnson, Hashtroudi, & Lindsay, 1993, for more on source monitoring errors generally).…”

Trial by Tabloid: Can Implicit Bias Education Reduce Pretrial Publicity Bias?

“…Pretrial publicity (PTP) involves media coverage of criminal or civil cases through mediums such as newspapers, television, and social media. Exposure to PTP can bias a variety of legal decisions, which threatens a defendant’s Fifth Amendment right to due process and Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial by an impartial jury of one’s peers (Kramer et al, 1990; Otto et al, 1994; Ruva, 2018; Steblay et al, 1999). In a more far-reaching effect, PTP can compromise the public’s confidence in the legal system (Doyle, 2017).…”

“…In a more far-reaching effect, PTP can compromise the public’s confidence in the legal system (Doyle, 2017). Courts rely on the process of voir dire to identify and eliminate biased jurors prior to trial; yet this traditional remedy has largely failed to reduce biased decision-making (Kramer et al, 1990; Ruva, 2018). Recently, courts have proposed new remedies, notably educational videos and modified jury instructions that are increasing in popularity (Roberts, 2018).…”

“…This may be due to source misattribution, which occurs when an individual cannot recall where the memory originates from (Johnson et al, 1993). The longer the delay between PTP and the trial, the more likely it is for source misattribution to occur (Ruva, 2018; Ruva & McEvoy, 2008; see also Frost et al, 2002). Jurors commit these source attribution errors at high rates despite confidence that they are only considering evidence presented at trial (Ruva & Guenther, 2015).…”

“…Jurors are more likely to convict as the number of source misattributions increase (Ruva et al, 2007; Ruva & Guenther, 2015; Ruva & McEvoy, 2008). The combination of source attribution errors and overconfidence may explain why one type of courtroom remedy, a trial continuance, has been largely ineffective at reducing PTP bias and may in fact exacerbate the problem (Ruva, 2018).…”