At present there is an on going debate as to whether legal television dramas like CSI impact juror decision making. There are many in academia who believe that they do not. There are just as many practitioners who believe that they do. I find myself somewhere in the middle leaning more towards the practitioners' side. The difficulty of course with the debate is proving it one way or the other.
The article below offers some evidence that CSI and other legal dramas are impacting jurors. For example, the article cites a study where some Australian jurors when faced with difficult jury instructions "slipp[ed] into what they learn on television.'' In that same study, conducted by Psychologist Professor James Ogloff, many Australian jurors referenced the famous holding of Miranda v. Arizona despite the fact that this American case has no application or relevance in the Australian criminal legal system nor was this case ever raised or discussed during trial.
The Age: US legal dramas confuse juries
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