The popular jury: descriptive/exploratory study of a real trial and non-binding decision

Abstract

This article deals with the analysis of the main factors influencing the decision of the members of a jury in an experimental trial held in Málaga. This study was carried out in preparation for the introduction of jury-trials in Spanish Courts. The trial atissue was a real case, but the decision ofthe jury was notbinding. This work attempts to analyze the factors that explain the jury's decision. Itis ofa qualitative andexploratory nature. The study has found four different stages: predeliberation, deliberation, postdeliberation and post-trial. The results of the study indicate that the jurors value very highly the intervention of the counsel for the defense. Certain extralegal factors, such as the impression that the accused and the victim make on the members of the jury, also play an important role in the process.