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48 How. J. Crim. Just. 1 (2009)

handle is hein.journals/hjcj48 and id is 1 raw text is: The Howard journal Vol 48 No 1. February 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2311.2008.00539.x ISSN 0265-5527, pp. 1-12 Vicarious Traumatisation as a Consequence of Jury Service NOELLE ROBERTSON, GRAHAM DAVIES and ALICE NETTLEINGHAM Noelle Robertson is Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Graham Davies is Professor Emeritus and Alice Nettleingham is Graduate Student, School of Psychology, University of Leicester Abstract: Recent research on past-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has highlighted the adverse consequences of trauma, not just for victims, but also for those who interact with them: vicarious traumatisation. British citizens are required to sit on juries, where they may be exposed to gruesome exhibits and harrowing testimony: can such experiences also lead to vicarious traumatisation? Previous studies have demonstrated that some jurors do suffer both short- and longer-term trauma from jury service, both from hearing evidence and deliberation in the jury room. A first exploratory survey of Britishjurors confirms that a minority of jurors are so affected. The article calls for modifications to the current arbitrary allocation of jurors and for greater provision of information and guidance to minimise the negative consequences of an essential civic duty. Keywords: juries; stress; vicarious traumatisation To serve as a member of ajury is considered a civic duty, not only in Britain, but also in the United States and most Commonwealth countries (Vidmar 2000; Kaplan and Martin 2006). In England and Wales, following the Criminal Justice Act 2003, almost all citizens aged between the ages of 18 and 69 years are now eligible for jury service (the exceptions being those with serious mental health problems or significant criminal records). On average, some 390,000 citizens serve on juries each year, selected at random from those on the electoral role (Jury Central Summoning Bureau 2007). Once at court, all prospective jurors are shown a film briefly outlining their duties and allocation ofjurors to particular trials is arbitrary. Some jurors will be selected to serve on cases involving crimes against the person and will be exposed to testimony from visibly distressed victims, which will frequently be graphic and shocking. They will be expected to handle exhibits and examine explicit and gruesome photographs. When they retire to the jury room, they will have to rehearse such evidence and weigh up its significance for the guilt of the accused before reaching a verdict. They may find themselves in a minority on the jury, trying to change the minds of others while resisting pressures to conform to the 1 0 2009 The Authors journal compilation 0 2009 The Howard League and Blackwell Publishing Ltd Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ UK

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