NCJ Number
146293
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 17 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 625-643
Date Published
1993
Length
19 pages
Annotation
When juries are deadlocked, judges often deliver the dynamite charge, a supplemental instruction that urges jurors to rethink their views in an effort to reach a unanimous verdict; the present study evaluated the impact of the dynamite charge on 378 subjects who participated in 63 deadlocked mock juries.
Abstract
The study was designed to assess the impact of the dynamite charge on perceptions and behaviors of deliberating mock juries, to examine the process by which the dynamite charge coerced individuals to change their votes, and to evaluate possible procedural alternatives to the dynamite charge. Twelve subjects read a transcript of an aggregated assault trial and indicated their predeliberation verdict preferences. Based on these responses, six-person juries were constructed that were stacked four-to-two in favor of either conviction or acquittal. A total of 1,011 undergraduate students participated in the study. Results showed that the dynamite charge caused jurors in the voting minority to feel coerced and to change their votes, reduced the pressure felt by those in the majority, and hastened the deliberation process in juries favoring conviction. The authors believe the study findings raise serious questions about the appropriateness of the dynamite charge. 23 references, 1 table, and 2 figures