AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter
The world’s largest study into jury behaviour has raised the possibility of major reform in the way sexual abuse cases are presented before the courts.
The Australian research challenges the long-held assumption that juries hold unfair prejudice towards defendants in sexual abuse cases that may influence their decision-making.
Released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on Wednesday, the study found juries were not unfairly swayed by hearing evidence from multiple complainants against the same defendant.
It also revealed that evidence of the accused’s “bad character” did not unduly influence a jury’s verdict.
Conducted by Charles Sturt University and the University of NSW, the study involved more than 1000 people who took part in 90 mock trials involving child sexual abuse.
The research revealed that when presented with a joint trial involving multiple victims and one defendant, juries were not overwhelmed by the number of witnesses or complainants, were able to distinguish charges against an accused and could base their verdicts on evidence related to each count.
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