Curley Lee John, Munro James, Turner Jim, Frumkin Lara A, Jackson Elaine, Lages Martin
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Psychology and Counselling, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Science and Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Behav Sci Law. 2022 May;40(3):452-466. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2568. Epub 2022 Apr 22.
The current Scottish verdict system includes three verdicts: 'guilty', 'not guilty' and 'not proven'. The Scottish Government are currently reviewing the utility of the not proven verdict. Proponents of the not proven verdict suggest that it directs jurors to their true role of determining whether the prosecution's case has, or has not, been 'proven'. Reformists suggest a move to a system similar to England and Wales, with only guilty and not guilty verdicts. However, legal professionals have indicated a preference for an alternative system of proven and not proven. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of a proven and not proven system on verdicts given, when compared to alternative verdict systems (specifically, the current Scottish and Anglo-American verdict systems). 227 mock jurors watched a staged murder trial, filmed in a real-life courtroom, with legal professionals questioning witnesses and a judge giving legal direction. Jurors were significantly more likely to convict in a guilty and not guilty verdict system than either a proven and not proven or a guilty, not guilty and not proven verdict system. Future research should replicate this study with a focus on the impact of the not proven verdict in sexual offences.
“有罪”“无罪”和“证据不足”。苏格兰政府目前正在审视“证据不足”这一裁决结果的效用。支持“证据不足”裁决结果的人认为，它能引导陪审员认清其真正职责，即判定检方的指控是否得到“证实”。改革派建议采用类似英格兰和威尔士的体系，仅保留有罪和无罪两种裁决结果。然而，法律专业人士表示倾向于采用一种“证实”与“未证实”的替代体系。本研究的目的是，与其他裁决体系（具体而言，即当前苏格兰和英美的裁决体系）相比，测试“证实”与“未证实”体系对所做出裁决的影响。227名模拟陪审员观看了一场在真实法庭拍摄的模拟谋杀审判，由法律专业人士对证人进行询问，法官给出法律指导。在有罪和无罪裁决体系下，陪审员做出有罪裁决的可能性显著高于“证实”与“未证实”体系或有罪、无罪和证据不足裁决体系。未来的研究应重复此项研究，重点关注“证据不足”裁决结果在性犯罪中的影响。
