Janne Holmgren

Dna Evidence: Judge and Jury Challenges: Judge and Jury Interpretations, Perceptions, and Understanding of Dna Evidence Janne Holmgren

The rapid advancement of DNA techniques has turned courtrooms into scientific forums. The principal aim of this dissertation, from a Canadian perspective, was to evalute how judges and jurors interpret, perceive, and understand DNA evidence. In order to address this research question, a multi-method design was adopted consisting of the following: three separate focus groups (consisting of jury eligible persons, defence lawyers, and Crown prosecutors); seven in-depth interviews with Court of Queen's Bench Justices; 500 jury eligible surveys; and a mock scripted murder trial. The data suggests that jurors assign greater weight to DNA evidence than they do other types of evidence. Several recommendations unfolded as a result of this research: the encouragement for jurors to take notes, which includes providing jurors with note books; encouragement by judges to allow written questions from jurors; recognition of individual learning styles including providing sworn jurors with a learning style survey; making the courtroom a more comfortable learning environment; and the allowance for real jury research in Canada.