Terrorism has become an everyday reality in most contemporary societies. In a context of heightened fear can juries be trusted to remain impartial when confronted by defendants charged with terrorism? Do they scrutinize prosecution cases carefully, or does emotion trump reason once the spectre of terrorism is invoked? This book examines these questions from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The authors look at the how jurors in terrorism trials are likely to respond to gruesome evidence, including beheading videos. The 'CSI effect' is examined as a possible response to forensic evidence, and jurors with different learning preferences are compared. Virtual interactive environments, built like computer games, may be created to provide animated reconstructions of the prosecution or defence case. This book reports on how to create such presentations, culminating in the analysis of a live simulated trial using interactive visual displays followed by jury deliberations. divThe team of international, transdisciplinary experts draw conclusions of global legal and political significance, and contribute to the growing scholarship on comparative counter-terrorism law. The book will be of great interest to scholars, students and practitioners of law, criminal justice, forensic science and psychology.

The jury is often hailed as one of the most important symbols of American democracy. Yet much has changed since the Sixth Amendment in 1791 first guaranteed all citizens the right to a jury trial in criminal prosecutions. Experts now have a much more nuanced understanding of the psychological implications of being a juror, and advances in technology and neuroscience make the work of rendering a decision in a criminal trial more complicated than ever before. Criminal Juries in the 21st Century explores the increasingly wide gulf between criminal trial law, procedures, and policy, and what scientific findings have revealed about the human experience of serving as a juror. Readers will contemplate myriad legal issues that arise when jurors decide criminal cases as well as cutting-edge psychological research that can be used to not only understand the performance and experience of the contemporary criminal jury, but also to improve it. Chapter authors grapple with a number of key issues at the intersection of psychology and law, guiding readers to consider everything from the factors that influence the initial selection of the jury to how jurors cope with and reflect on their service after the trial ends. Together the chapters provide a unique view of criminal juries with the goal of increasing awareness of a broad range of current issues in great need of theoretical, empirical, and legal attention. Criminal Juries in the 21st Century will identify how social science research can inform law and policy relevant to improving justice within the jury system, and is an essential resource for those who directly study jury decision making as well as social scientists generally, attorneys, judges, students, and even future jurors.

The majority of common law jurisdictions, and some civil law jurisdictions, use juries composed of citizens drawn from the general population to deliberate and reach collective verdicts in criminal cases. Juries are relied on to use their collective judgment to reach verdicts that accord with normative legal goals; for example, by being accurate and fair. How Juries Worksuggests that, though important symbolically, the current jury system is not necessarily well designed to meet the demands of modern society, which increasingly requires evidence-based procedure that is carefully designed to achieve normative goals. Rebecca K. Helm proposes new models of how jurors and juries function in practice, informed by psychological theory and empirical research, which provide a framework to interpret and integrate the large body of existing work on jury decision-making. Drawing on this framework, Helm highlights the deficiencies and strengths of the jury as a legal fact-finder, providing key insights into how to minimize deficiencies and maximize strengths through trial procedure. The book concludes with a set of timely evidence-based suggestions as to how procedure surrounding trial by jury might be altered to enhance the administration of justice in the many jurisdictions where the criminal law jury is utilized. How Juries Workintegrates legal and psychological theory and research to present a comprehensive assessment of the modern criminal law jury, and of how evidence-based research can improve jury performance.

This book bridges a scholarly divide between empirical and normative theorizing about procedural justice in the context of relations of power between citizens and the state. Empirical research establishes that people’s understanding of procedural justice is shaped by relational factors. A central premise of this volume is that this research is significant but needs to be complemented by normative theorizing that draws on relational theories of ethics and justice to explain the moral significance of procedures and make normative sense of people’s concerns about relational factors. The chapters in Part 1 provide comprehensive reviews of empirical studies of procedural justice in policing, courts and prisons. Part 2 explores empirical and normative perspectives on procedural justice and legitimacy. Part 3 examines philosophical approaches to procedural justice. Part 4 considers the implications of a relational perspective for the design of procedures in a range of legal contexts. This collection will be of interest to a wide academic readership in philosophy, law, psychology and criminology.

A landmark sociological examination of terrorism prosecution in United States courts Rather than functioning as a final arbiter of justice, U.S. domestic courts are increasingly seen as counterterrorism tools that can incapacitate terrorists, maintain national security operations domestically, and produce certain narratives of conflict. Terrorism on Trial examines the contemporary role that these courts play in the global war on terror and their use as a weapon of war: hunting, criminalizing, and punishing entire communities in the name of national security. Nicole Nguyen advocates for a rethinking of popular understandings of political violence and its root causes, encouraging readers to consider anti-imperial abolitionist alternatives to the criminalization, prosecution, and incarceration of individuals marked as real or perceived terrorists. She exposes how dominant academic discourses, geographical imaginations, and social processes have shaped terrorism prosecutions, as well as how our fundamental misunderstanding of terrorism has led to punitive responses that do little to address the true sources of violence, such as military interventions, colonial occupations, and tyrannical regimes. Nguyen also explores how these criminal proceedings bear on the lives of defendants and families, seeking to understand how legal processes unevenly criminalize and disempower communities of color. A retheorization of terrorism as political violence, Terrorism on Trial invites readers to carefully consider the role of power and politics in the making of armed resistance, addressing the root causes of political violence, with a goal of building toward a less violent and more liberatory world.

This timely edited collection brings together experts in the fields of legal history, criminal justice, human rights and counter-terrorism law to appraise Ireland's Offences Against the State Act on the eightieth anniversary of its enactment. The origins, development, invocation and extension of the powers contained in the legislation are analysed and critiqued using a broad range of methodologies. The book engages fully with the 1939 Act's scope and complexity including consideration of the impact of the Act on issues as diverse as trial by jury, paramilitary organisations, organised crime, disclosure, the rules of evidence, freedom of expression and association, parliamentary oversight of legislation and adherence to international human rights norms. In addition, the interplay of the Act with the universal themes of normalcy, exceptionalism, contagion and due process are explored throughout. This book will appeal to an audience beyond those with a particular interest in the Act itself. It combines historical and contemporary insights with theoretical and practical perspectives that will enrich the reader's understanding of emergency law, wherever it arises.

This edited collection brings together leading academics, researchers, and police personnel to provide a comprehensive body of literature that informs Australian police education, training, research, policy, and practice. There is a strong history and growth in police education, both in Australia and globally. Recognising and reflecting on the Australian and New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) education and training framework, the range of chapters within the book address a range of 21st-century issues modern police forces face. This book discusses four key themes: Education, training, and professional practice: topics include police education, ethics, wellbeing, and leadership Organisational approaches and techniques: topics include police discretion, use of force, investigative interviewing, and forensic science Operational practices and procedures: topics include police and the media, emergency management, cybercrime, terrorism, and community management Working with individuals and groups: topics include mental health, Indigenous communities, young people, hate crime, domestic violence, and working with victims Australian Policing: Critical Issues in 21st Century Police Practice draws together theoretical and practice debates to ensure this book will be of interest to those who want to join the police, those who are currently training to become a police officer, and those who are currently serving. This book is essential reading for all students, scholars, and researchers engaged with policing and the criminal justice sector.