How does juror bias generally affect jurors' thought processes? Discuss biased jurors in the context of the case of Jerry Sandusky.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers may vary.Juror bias is a juror's predisposition to interpret and understand information based on past experience. When people are exposed to new events, they respond by relying on past experiences. When they view a traffic accident, for instance, they may make judgments that one car ran a red light or that another car was in the wrong lane. They may assume that an accident involving teenaged drivers was caused by excessive speed or texting while driving.In a highly anticipated criminal trial, former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky faced accusations of sexually molesting boys and young men over several years. The trial was held in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, approximately 12 miles from Penn State, where football is high profile and enormously profitable. Perhaps it was no surprise, then, that many prospective jurors had affiliations with and allegiances to Penn State. It was somewhat more surprising that so many were selected to serve on the jury. The group of 12 jurors and 4 alternates included a woman whose family has had Penn State football season tickets since the 1970s, a Penn State junior who was working in the athletic office and whose cousin played on the football team, two professors-one on the faculty for 24 years and another who retired, two women employed by the university, and three graduates of Penn State, including one who heard Jerry Sandusky speak at her graduation ceremony. Of course, having personal ties with the university does not necessarily render these jurors incapable of delivering fair verdicts. One wonders whether it was easy for them to do so-but they did convict Mr. Sandusky on 45 felony charges.