Jury Suggestibility: The Misinformation Effect of Dubious Forensic Transcripts that Accompany Indistinct Covert Recordings

Abstract

Covert recordings and transcripts may be used for evidentiary purposes in the justice system. However, it has been found that providing a written transcript alongside the covert recording may lead to misinterpretation of the original recording among jurors. This may lead to wrongful convictions. The current thesis aimed to examine the impact of covert recording transcripts on juror decision making and research potential mitigation strategies to combat the biasing effect of transcripts.

Within the first two experimental studies, the presentation of transcripts was manipulated. Specifically, in Study 1, the relative effect of transcript presentation time points was assessed. Transcripts did not significantly affect verdict accuracy in general but led to significantly more wrongful judgments. Additionally, mock jurors were significantly less accurate if they received transcripts after exposure to recordings.

In Study 2, the way dubious words were presented in the transcript was manipulated. Study 2 found that, in line with existing safeguarding strategies, when transcripts are dubious, it is better to provide jurors with a transcript containing both potential versions of the word. This enables jurors to evaluate both options, to achieve the best verdict accuracy.

Given the detrimental effect of transcripts on juror decision making discovered in the first two studies, Study 3 investigated a potential mitigation strategy which was a pretrial warning. Study 3 showed that although affecting mock jurors’ overall perception of transcripts, the pretrial warning did not achieve its desired effect in increasing decision accuracy. This may be due to mock jurors’ insufficient understanding of the provided warning.

Together, these findings indicate that regardless of the way transcripts are presented, they will have a detrimental effect on juror’ decisions. Existing safeguarding strategies appear to be insufficient and thus should be further investigated.