Brian L. Cutler

Juror sensitivity to eyewitness identification evidence.

A mock-jury study was conducted to examine juror sensitivity to eyewitness identification evidence. Subjects were 129 eligible and experienced jurors from Dane County, Wisconsin, who viewed a videotaped trial that involved an eyewitness identification. Ten factors associated with the crime and the identification (e.g., disguise of the perpetrator, retention interval, confidence of the witness) were manipulated. The results of this mock-jury study were combined with those of a previous study using the same experimental stimuli and procedures, but using undergraduates as subjects. This analysis showed that the confidence of the eyewitness was the most powerful predictor of verdicts (p<.05) and that differences between undergraduates and eligible jurors in their sensitivity to eyewitness evidence were negligible.

The reliability of eyewitness identification: The role of system and estimator variables.

This study examines the effects of 14 estimator variables (e.g., disguise of robber, exposure time, weapon visibility) and system variables (e.g., lineup instructions, exposure to mugshots) on a number of measures of eyewitness performance: identification accuracy, choosing rates, confidence in lineup choice, relation between confidence and identification accuracy, memory for peripheral details, memory for physical characteristics of target, and time estimates. Subjects viewed a videotaped reenactment of an armed robbery and later attempted an identification. Characteristics of the videotape and lineup task were manipulated. Prominent findings were as follows: identification accuracy was affected by both estimator and system variables including disguise of robber, weapon visibility, elaboration instructions, and lineup instructions. Memory for peripheral details was positively correlated with choosing on the identification task but negatively correlated with identification accuracy.

Witness confidence and witness accuracy: Assessing their forensic relation.

Jurors overbelieve eyewitnesses, have difficulty reliably differentiating accurate from inaccurate eyewitnesses, and are not adequately sensitive to aspects of witnessing and identification conditions. A major source of juror unreliability is reliance on witness confidence, a dubious indicator of ey

A meta-analysis of the association between authoritarianism and jurors' perceptions of defendant culpability

Despite scholarly criticism, juror attitudes or individual differences might affect verdict choice in criminal trials. Authoritarianism is a face valid predictor. Twenty studies exploring the authoritarianism-verdict relation were meta-analyzed to test this hypothesis. Authoritarianism measure (traditional or legal), subject type, presentation medium of trial, and type of crime were examined as moderators of the effect. Results support an authoritarianism-verdict relation and the moderator effect of authoritarianism type. Legal authoritarianism correlated more strongly with verdict. Subject type, presentation medium, and type of crime were also significant moderators. Implications for future research, as well as for legal and judicial practice, are discussed

Reliability and validity of the original and revised legal attitudes questionnaire

The Legal Attitudes Questionnaire (LAQ) predicts juror bias, but there is little evidence concerning its reliability and construct validity. Two studies provide such evidence for two versions of the LAQ. In Study 1 a questionnaire containing both versions of the LAQ, measures of related and unrelated constructs, and demographic questions was completed by 294 undergraduates. In Study 2 a shortened questionnaire was completed by 102 jury-eligible adults. In both studies, the revised version of the LAQ was superior to the original LAQ in terms of missing data, internal reliability, and construct validity. A refined version of the revised scale is presented, evaluated, and recommended for future use.

Effects of Inconsistent Eyewitness Statements on Mock-Jurors' Evaluations of the Eyewitness, Perceptions of Defendant Culpability and Verdicts

In attempting to discredit an eyewitness, it is a common strategy for an attorney to highlight inconsistencies in the eyewitnesss recall testimony during cross-examination and encourage the jurors to infer, based on those inconsistencies, that the eyewitnesss memory is faulty. An experiment was conducted to examine the effectiveness of this cross-examination strategy. Subjects viewed a simulated cross-examination and rendered judgmenets about the eyewitness and defendant. The type of inconsistent testimony was manipulated between subjects. Subjects exposed to inconsistent recall testimony about either central or peripheral details perceived the eyewitness as less credible (as evidenced by ratings on multiple dimensions) and the defendant as less culpable. Inconsistency on central details led to fewer convictions. Results point to the effectiveness of this cross-examination strategh.

The external validity of eyewitness identification research: Generalizing across subject populations.

The propriety of psychological testimony concerning factors that influence eyewitness reliability has been challenged on the grounds that the research methods and populations used in eyewitness research may not generalize. The present experiment examines one aspect of the generalizability issue and tests whether a number of factors that have produced differential performance in college-age subject populations produce similar effects in older subject populations. Subjects ranging from 18 to 74 years of age viewed a videotaped reenactment of a robbery. In the videotapes the presence of a weapon and the robbers disguise were manipulated. At the identification phase, the presence of the robber in the lineup, the lineup instructions given the witnesses, and contextual aids to witness memory were manipulated. Age produced a main effect on identification accuracy (with performance declining with age), but did not interact with any of the other variables. The results indicate that the effects of the other independent variables generalize across age groups.

Performance feedback improves the resolution of confidence judgments

Abstract A training experiment was carried out to examine whether feedback concerning the appropriateness of confidence judgments, given in terms of probability, improves calibration and resolution skills. Subjects participated in four separate sessions in which they responded to a series of general knowledge questions. Immediately before completing the questionnaires in Sessions 2, 3, and 4, half of the subjects were given detailed feedback concerning their confidence levels and accuracy rates. The remaining half were given no such feedback, and thus served as a control group. The resolution of confidence judgments improved across sessions to a greater extent for the group exposed to performance feedback than for the control group. Calibration of confidence judgments was uninfluenced by the performance feedback manipulation.

Jury selection in insanity defense cases

Abstract In three studies legal authoritarianism, attitudes toward psychiatrists, and attitudes toward the insanity defense were examined as predictors of conviction-proneness in insanity defense cases. In Study 1 subjects responded to a juror selection survey containing a brief version of a case, a verdict form, and measures of the constructs mentioned above. In Studies 2 and 3 subjects completed measures of the relevant constructs, viewed a videotaped enactment of an insanity defense case, and rendered verdicts. The three studies converge on the conclusion that legal authoritarianism, attitudes toward psychiatrists, and attitudes toward the insanity defense reliably predict conviction-proneness. In addition, Study 2 compares two separate measures of legal authoritarianism and Study 3 examines the reliability and factor structure of a newly devised instrument for assessing attitudes toward psychiatrists and the insanity defense. The implications of these findings for current jury selection procedures are discussed.

Examining the cognitive interview in a double-test paradigm

Abstract The Cognitive Interview (CI) was compared with a standard interview protocol (based on the National Transportation Safety Board) to interview witnesses of a videotaped traffic accident. Witnesses were tested twice, five minutes after viewing the accident and again two weeks later. The CI elicited approximately 70% more correct facts than did the standard interview, and at equivalent accuracy rates, at both the first interview and the second interview. The double-testing procedure generated novel data patterns that may allow us to identify incorrect recollections; other results lead us to question some legal assumptions about the diagnosticity of inconsistent recollections.