Scottish jury research - mock jury study: summary of findings

A note on the findings

Although 64 mock juries is a substantial undertaking, there were no statistically significant differences in the number of guilty versus acquittal verdicts at jury level due to the relatively small number of juries in each condition (in statistical terms). However, there were a number of significant differences in the verdicts at the level of individual jurors. These results are decribed below.

As juries reach decisions collectively, rather than individually, the translation from juror-level findings to jury-level implications is not straightfoward. However, differences in the verdicts favoured by individual jurors can tell us whether or not particular features of the jury system might incline jurors in one direction or another. This may, therefore, indicate whether changes to the jury system, if applied across a larger number of finely balanced trials, might affect the likelihood of juries returning a particular verdict.