Research aims and methods

This chapter provides an overview of two experimental studies undertaken to explore jury behaviour in the context of a contemporary terrorism trial. Study One was a videotrial simulation and Study Two, a live simulated trial. In Study One, 308 jury-eligible community volunteers watched the videotrial at the University of Canberra. In Study Two, 144 jury-eligible citizens sat in a courtroom, observed a live enactment of a trial and retired to one of 12 jury rooms to deliberate to a verdict. In both trials, the case involved an alleged terrorist incident in which a young white man was accused of placing a bomb on a train that exploded after he alighted, killing innocent commuters in the centre of Sydney. Across two related studies, we aimed to test the effect on jury reasoning and conviction rates of interactive virtual environments, jury instructions on the appropriate use of expert evidence and individual versus group decision-making.