Jury System of UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

panel System of UK - Essay ExampleBut considering the complexity of many trials today - especially with the advances made in forensic science and the complexity of many civil trials, severe doubts regarding the efficacy of the jury system arouse been made.First of all, it is correct to consider whether a jury can in fact be neutral, especially when there has been a lot of pretrial publicity. Many studies have documented adverse effectuate of pre-trial publicity on juror decision making (Linz & Penrod, 1992 Otto, Penrod & Dexter, 1994 Ogloff & Vidmar, 1994 Studebaker & Penrod, 1997). These studies point out that jurors do not populate in a vacuum and argon likely to have some opinion of a long-familiar fortune in the lead they enter the courtroom.In many fashions this can be linked to the ideas of groupthink. still as the jury may be influenced by what the public outside supposedly thinks regarding a case - usually influenced by the media - so as a whole they may come to concl usions based upon a kind of consensus feeling rather than rational thought. This type of situation has been called groupthink. Janis Irving has created a perhaps more sober definition in which she describes groupthink as a mode of thinking that people engage in when they atomic number 18 deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically esteem alternative courses of action (Irving, 1972). There are various interpretations and analyses of the practical(a) results of groupthink that have occurred over the years.In the current article in which the term groupthink was postulated, Whyte described group think in the following wayWe are not talking about mere instinctive conformity - it is, after all, a perennial flunk of all mankind. What we are talking about is a rationalized conformity - an open, articulate philosophy which holdsthat group value are not only expedient but right and good as well. (Whyte, 1952 ) (emphasis added)One way of improving jury decisions, and thus making them more reliable, would be to actively educate juries on the dangers of groupthink before a trial starts. Just as their knowledge of the case, predisposition towards certain verdicts, experience of this type of offence/action are a lot tested through the process of voir-dire, so juries could be taught in a short workshop on the problems of groupthink and how to avoid them before the trial begins. There are various interpretations and analyses of the practical results of groupthink that have occurred over the years. Some, such(prenominal) as McCauley (1987) have concentrated on some of the more sullen sides of the tendency in which individuals may be swayed into ways of behaving that they would not otherwise consider. For sample, extreme cases of groupthink can often be found within various religious cults, sometimes leading to disastrous and tragic consequences such as the mass suicides at Jonestown or of t he Heavens Gate group. These are thankfully rare examples of an extreme example of groupthink in which what may be a powerful good is turned into a destructive electronegativity because of the pathological nature of those who are leading the groupthink. Other cases of groupthink have been found within organizations of some of the more or less intellectual and highly educated people (who would not be expected to be easy followers as were the mostly uneducated