The Timing of Opinion Formation by Jurors in Civil Cases: An Empirical Examination
![handle is hein.journals/tenn67 and id is 637 raw text is: THE TIMING OF OPINION FORMATION BY JURORS
IN CIVIL CASES: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION
PAULA L. HANNAFORD, VALERIE P. HANS, NICOLE L. MoTT, AND
G. THOMAS MUNSTERMAN
Jurymen... have been prone to say that once the opening statements were
made there was nothing left to the case.I
[A]s many as 80 to 90 percent of all jurors have reached their ultimate
verdict during or immediately after opening statements?
Finally,... keep an open mind regarding each issue in the case until all of
the evidence has been received?
I. INTRODUCTION
The question of when and how jurors form opinions about evidence
presented at trial has been the focus of seemingly endless speculation. For
lawyers, the question is how to capture the attention and approval of the jury
at the earliest possible point in the trial. Their goal is to maximize the
persuasiveness of their arguments--or at least to minimize the persuasiveness
of those of the opposing side. Judges, in contrast, are more concerned about
prejudgment. They regularly admonish jurors to suspend judgment until after
all the evidence has been presented and after the jurors have been instructed
on the law.4
* Paula L. Hannaford is Senior Research Associate, Nicole L. Mott is Research
Associate, and G. Thomas Munsterman is Director of the Center for Jury Studies at the National
Center for State Courts; Valerie P. Hans is Professor of Criminal Justice and Psychology at the
University of Delaware. The authors wish to thank Shari S. Diamond, Robert MacCoun, and
Mary Rose for their helpful comments on an earlier draft and Roxana M. Gonzalez, Michael P.
Griffin, Heather V. Imhof, and Carrie V. Smith for their research assistance.
The research reported in this Article was funded by a grant from the State Justice Institute
(SJI-96-12A-B- 181) to the National Center for State Courts. The points of view expressed are
those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of the
State Justice Institute or the National Center for State Courts. For additional information about
this project, please contact Paula L. Hannaford, National Center for State Courts, 300 Newport
Avenue, Williamsburg, VA 23185 (telephone: 757-259-1556; e-mail: phannaford@
ncsc.dni.us).
1. ALFRED S. JULIEN, OPENING STATEMENTS § 1.01, at 2 (Supp. 1996).
2. DONALD E. VINSON, JURY TRIALS: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING STRATEGY 171
(1986).
3. KEviN F. O'MALLEY ET AL., IA FEDERAL JURY PRACTICE AND INSTRUCTIONS 9 (5th
ed. 2000).
4. See id.
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The Timing of Opinion Formation by Jurors in Civil Cases: An Empirical Examination
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