Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Truth or Doubt?

Here is the link to my latest Wisconsin Law Journal post, which discusses my recent article (coauthored with Larry White, Ph.D.) on Wisconsin's jury instruction 140.  This instruction covers the burden of proof in criminal cases.  In short, the Wisconsin instruction tells the jury to disregard their search for reasonable doubt in favor of a search for what they think the truth is.  Multiple other state courts have warned trial courts not to give this instruction because, quite obviously, it diminishes the burden of proof.  Our article explains this from a logical perspective, and also uses a controlled study to empirically test our hypothesis that jurors who receive Wisconsin's instruction will convict at a higher rate than jurors who receive a standard reasonable doubt instruction.  Spoiler alert: We were right.  You can find the pre-publication version of our article, Truth or Doubt? An Empirical Test of Criminal Jury Instructions, 50 U. Richmond L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming, May 2016) on the Social Science Research Network.    

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