Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today on this important issue. I agree with Mr. Trudell that it speaks very well of the House of Commons that it is examining this topic.
I am a professor of psychology and law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where I've been on the faculty since 2000. My major research focus is jury decision-making, and I have been investigating and writing about juror stress and well-being for over a dozen years.
I have divided my remarks into three sections: symptoms and prevalence of juror mental health issues, causes, and interventions and benefits. My generalizations today are drawn from a body of research that has largely been conducted in the U.S. Canadian jurors' experience might differ due to the many differences between countries in jury selection, trial procedures, and the kinds of cases that result in jury trials, but I expect that many aspects of the experience would be similar regardless of nationality.
The symptoms of juror stress are much easier to describe than the prevalence. Stress, anxiety, depression, perseverative thoughts, and impaired sleeping and eating are the most common negative symptoms that have been found in the literature. In the vast majority of jurors, these symptoms fall short of the threshold for a clinical diagnosis, but in rare cases, they can be severe enough to satisfy the criteria for an anxiety, depressive, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Jurors' reactions necessarily vary across individuals. Some people are naturally more sensitive or resilient than others. For example, several studies have found that women jurors report more, and more severe, stress symptoms than men jurors.
The exact prevalence of juror stress is hard to pin down because of the enormous variability in the kinds of trials and in how researchers measure stress and well-being. However, a rough ballpark figure is that one-quarter to one-half of jurors experience some type of negative reaction to some aspect of their jury service. That figure is probably an underestimate, given the general tendency of most people to want to appear in a positive light. Because trials vary so widely, it makes more sense to talk about factors that are more or less likely to cause stress than about the overall prevalence. Certain features of trials pose a greater threat to jurors' well-being than others.
Causes of juror stress range from the common and mundane to the rare and excruciating. Research that I conducted several years ago, along with a number of other studies, has identified seven different categories of stressors. In descending order of frequency, they are as follows:
First is disruption to daily life, such as having to manage jury service along with one's work and personal life—such as the example Ms. Donaldson gave of the man who had to work two jobs while serving as a juror—as well as the low rate of juror pay in most jurisdictions.
Second is trial complexity, such as difficulty understanding expert testimony or jury instructions.
Third is reactions to evidence such as gruesome photos or testimony. We tend to think of this most often in terms of violent felony cases, but it also comes up in civil cases involving grievous injuries to plaintiffs. Conversely, evidence can be so tedious and boring that it is hard for jurors to sit through it.
Fourth is difficulty making decisions, or what I sometimes like to refer to as the burden of justice, such as fear of making the wrong decision or an awareness of what a particular verdict would mean for the parties involved.
Fifth is general jury duty factors, such as not understanding how the whole process works, who the various court personnel are, and what they do, and just generally feeling somewhat lost.
Sixth is juror interactions, such as heated disagreements during deliberation, especially if one takes a minority position, as well as negative interactions with courtroom personnel.
Seventh is external sources, such as fear of reprisal or media attention. Media attention, in particular, is increasing as the demand for online news grows and social media make it ever easier to disseminate information.
Some of these factors will almost always be present in jury trials, such as unfamiliarity with the process and disruption to one's daily life, whereas others will only occur in certain cases, such as complex evidence and media scrutiny. Also, some of these things are easier to address than others.
Means of reducing juror stress can be categorized as those that take place pretrial, during trial, or post-trial.
Pretrial techniques include juror orientation programs that warn them about—or even expose them to—potentially upsetting evidence, and private, individual voir dire. These processes have been found to reduce stress and increase juror satisfaction. Individual voir dire before a judge in chambers also increases the rate of disclosure of possible bias or conflict.
During trial, jurors could be allowed to ask questions, take notes, and discuss the case with one another prior to deliberation. Many jurisdictions have also experimented with simplifying their jury instructions. Studies show that these things tend to increase juror satisfaction without having an adverse impact on verdicts.
Post-trial techniques include debriefing sessions led by the judge or mental health personnel, such as the program described in Victoria. Jurors tend to appreciate the opportunity to vent afforded by a debriefing, and judges also find debriefing useful, but how much it alleviates any actual symptoms of stress is somewhat unclear.
The problem is that very little research has addressed the effectiveness of these various interventions. Considering the benefits of reducing jurors' stress, it is necessary also to consider the costs, especially in terms of time and money. For example, creating an orientation video is a one-time expense that requires relatively little time to create or show to jurors, but post-trial debriefing would be a significant time investment by judges and jurors, and a significant expense if led by a mental health professional.
Some of the benefits of reducing stress are obvious. The state has an interest in citizens' well-being and should not impose threats to their well-being—of long or even brief duration—by requiring them to perform a civic duty like serving as a juror.
There are less obvious benefits as well. Although the relationship between stress and decision-making is complex, and some research suggests that a moderate level of arousal can benefit cognitive performance, distraught jurors do not make good decisions. Stressed-out or anxious jurors are likely to be preoccupied and distracted from the task at hand, increasing the risk of inattention and poor comprehension, which can contribute to a miscarriage of justice.
There is also an efficiency argument to be made. Highly stressed jurors are more likely to have to be replaced, requiring the selection of alternate jurors. Negative experiences with jury duty perpetuate the myth that it is a duty best avoided, posing challenges for courts to obtain sufficiently large and diverse jury pools. Because after jury service, it is generally viewed positively and increases trust in government and other types of civic engagement, anything that deters citizens from serving on juries can have ripple effects.
Finally, although the focus of today's hearing is on juror stress, I wish to close by emphasizing that jurors are not the only ones whose well-being is at risk from what transpires in the courtroom. Attorneys, judges, and other court workers also make difficult decisions and are exposed to upsetting information. These personnel may face additional stressors that do not affect jurors, such as security concerns and burnout: their well-being should also be addressed.
Thank you.