Dr. Natalie Gordon
Appearances
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
I can't recall ever speaking to a juror who said they did not enjoy the experience, which is why when friends tell me, you know, they got a summons for jury duty, how do I get out of this? My response is consistently, trust me, if you get picked, you're going to be really glad that you did this.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
So that process is called voir dire. It's a legal term meaning to speak the truth. And during this process, the judge, the prosecuting attorney, and the defense attorney will ask questions to jurors. The first round of questions usually assesses any scheduling conflicts, and then they'll be asked about any biases they might have that prevent them from being a fair and impartial juror.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
And the lawyers will then have the opportunity to remove jurors from the panel after they've been questioned, which is why this process is often referred to as jury deselection rather than jury selection.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
So we know from extensive research that it's very difficult for jurors to set aside information that they have learned about a case from the media. And one of the main reasons it's so hard is because they misattribute information that they hear in the media to information learned at trial.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
And another thing I want to mention is that while juror sequestration, for example, might serve to shield jurors from media coverage during trial and during deliberations potentially, they're still exposed to media coverage before trial even begins. So it can't fully counteract the effects of pretrial publicity on their decision-making.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
So what I have seen in mock trial research, juries will sometimes start by taking a vote to see how the room is divided. In other instances, they might just dive right into the evidence and start discussing their thoughts on the case more broadly.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
And sometimes jurors will request to see copies of exhibits or transcripts of witness testimony that's been presented during trial, but that's ultimately at the judge's discretion.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
That's right. And you actually want that variability among jurors and their backgrounds because you can have more thorough discussions when you have those different perspectives. But on the flip side of that, the more extreme those views can be, the more likely it can be that the jury struggles to reach a unanimous agreement.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
Yeah, what jurors are asked to do, especially in criminal cases, it can be quite heavy. They appreciate the consequences of their decision. So even if they agree that the defendant was guilty of the charges, they're not necessarily happy about it. Jurors can feel a lot of sympathy and even empathy for the defendant while also finding him or her guilty.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
And that dissonance can be very challenging to navigate. But jurors rely on each other for support during the decision-making process. and end up becoming quite friendly with each other as a result. And they express a lot of pride for having served and respect for the process and respect for each other.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
I hope that you are so lucky. It's a great experience. Yeah. Thank you for breaking it down.
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
This case had sex, religion. It literally had...
Dateline NBC
A mom's desperate search to find her daughter. Tears and fury in an Ohio courtroom. And the latest in the Karen Read case.
Jurors can feel a lot of sympathy and even empathy for the defendant while also finding him or her guilty.