Showing 1 – 19 of 19 results.
Curated
ABC News "Nightline" Nanny Poll, November 1997 (ICPSR 2504)
Released/updated on: 2006-11-10
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll, conducted on November 10, 1997, sought respondents' views on the same-day decision by a judge to reverse the jury verdict in the criminal case against British au pair Louise Woodward. Respondents were reminded of the October 1997 verdict in which a jury found Woodward guilty of killing a baby boy who was left in her care by shaking him. They were then asked to give their opinions on the judge's decision to reduce the verdict from murder to manslaughter and to reduce Woodward's sentence to the nine months she had spent in jail awaiting trial. Those queried were asked whether they believed that judges should have the power to change jury verdicts in criminal cases. The results of the poll were announced on the ABC television program "Nightline." Background information on respondents includes sex.
Curated
ABC News "Nightline" Terry Nichols Poll, January 1998 (ICPSR 2505)
Released/updated on: 2006-11-10
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll sought respondents' views on the jury verdict convicting Terry Nichols of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and acquitting Nichols of first-degree murder and the use of a truck bomb in the bombing. Respondents were asked whether they believed that Nichols should have been found guilty of murder, whether Nichols should have received the death penalty, and whether the judge should sentence Nichols to life in prison or a lesser penalty. Those queried were also asked whether they believed that Nichols should be put on trial for the deaths of all the nonfederal employees who were killed in the bombing. An additional question asked respondents to provide their opinions regarding how many cents out of every dollar collected by the federal government are "wasted." The results of the poll were announced on the ABC television program "Nightline." Background information on respondents includes sex.
Curated
ABC News O.J. Simpson Jury Poll, February 1997 (ICPSR 2174)
Released/updated on: 2008-04-04
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll, fielded February 4, 1997, sought respondents' views on the O.J. Simpson civil trial verdict and the treatment of minorities in the criminal justice system. Respondents were asked for their opinions on the civil trial decision, which found Simpson responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Those queried were asked to consider the possible reasons for the different verdicts in the criminal and civil trials including differing legal definitions of guilt, the number of jurors required for a guilty verdict, the testimony and evidence allowed, the testimony of Simpson, and the racial demographics of the jury. Respondents' were asked for their personal opinions on the guilt or innocence of Simpson, whether they believed in the presence of a police conspiracy, and whether Simpson received a fair trial. Demographic variables include education, age, race, and sex.
Curated
ABC News O.J. Simpson Verdict Poll, October 1995 (ICPSR 6678)
Released/updated on: 1998-05-20
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll sought respondents' views on the O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict and on the treatment of minorities in the criminal justice system. Those queried were asked for their opinions on the verdict in the Simpson case and whether they believed Simpson was guilty or innocent. Additional topics covered a possible police conspiracy to frame Simpson and whether the outcome of the trial would have been different if Simpson were white. Demographic variables include sex and race.
Curated
ABC News O.J. Simpson Viewpoint Poll, October 1995 (ICPSR 6680)
Released/updated on: 2012-10-24
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll sought respondents' views on the O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict and its effect on the country. Those queried were asked for their opinions on media coverage of the case, motivations for that coverage, and whether other news stories were abandoned to cover the Simpson case in depth. Respondents were asked to comment on television cameras in courtrooms and the effect the Simpson trial had on race relations in the United States. Demographic variables include sex and race.
Curated
ABC News Timothy McVeigh Verdict Poll, June 1997 (ICPSR 2491)
Released/updated on: 2007-09-17
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll, conducted on June 2, 1997--the day that a jury convicted Timothy McVeigh of planning and planting the bomb that killed 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995--sought respondents' views on the verdict and on terrorist attacks in the United States. Respondents were asked whether they agreed with the verdict, whether McVeigh should receive the death penalty, and whether they believed that the government had caught everyone responsible. A series of questions addressed concern over terrorist attacks in the United States, including whether the respondent believed that he/she or anyone they knew was a potential victim of terrorism. Background information on respondents includes sex.
Curated
ABC News/Washington Post Los Angeles Beating Poll, April 1992 (ICPSR 9941)
Released/updated on: 2008-07-31
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll dealt with race relations and the verdict handed down in the Rodney King beating case in Los Angeles. Respondents were asked to describe the state of race relations in the United States, to indicate whether a great deal of prejudice against Blacks was present among whites and vice versa, and to agree or disagree with statements such as "Police in most cities treat Blacks as fairly as they treat whites," and "The only time the federal government really pays attention to Black problems is when Blacks resort to violent demonstrations or riots." Respondents were also asked if Blacks and other minorities received the same treatment as whites in the criminal justice system. Concerning the jury verdict in the Rodney King beating case, respondents were asked if they had heard or read about the verdict, whether they had seen the videotape of the police officers hitting and kicking King, and whether the police officers were guilty of a crime. Those surveyed were also asked if the not-guilty verdict would do major damage to race relations in the United States, if they agreed that the verdict showed that Blacks could not get justice in this country, and if they agreed that the rioting after the King verdict would make whites less sympathetic to the problems of Blacks. In addition, respondents were asked if the United States Justice Department should charge the police officers with the crime of violating Rodney King's civil rights. Background information on respondents includes age, Hispanic origin, race, and sex.
Curated
Can Jury Instructions Have an Impact on Trial Outcomes, California, 2018 (ICPSR 37956)
Released/updated on: 2023-04-13
Geographic coverage: United States, California
Time period: 2018-01-01--2018-12-31
This funded project tested whether "implicit bias" jury instructions can mitigate discrimination by juries. Implicit bias instructions are being used in a small but growing number of jurisdictions, but have not yet been adequately tested for efficacy. The study employed a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, in which the race of defendant (Black or White), race of informant witness (Black or White), and jury instructions (implicit bias or standard bias instruction) was varied, creating eight experimental conditions. The data in this archive represent 623 participants who were assigned to one of 120 jury groups who viewed a federal drug conspiracy trial, deliberated to a verdict, then completed a series of individual measures.
Curated
CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #3 and Call-Back, September 1995 (ICPSR 2150)
Released/updated on: 2010-05-07
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on a range of political and social issues. This survey focused on the O.J. Simpson murder trial, with an initial survey after the closing arguments were concluded and a call-back of some of the respondents after the verdict was announced. Initial questions examined respondents' confidence in the American justice system, their opinions on what they believed were the prosecution's and defense's strongest pieces of evidence, and whether they believed O.J. Simpson to be guilty or not guilty. Respondents were also asked in the initial survey how closely they followed the trial and whether the lawyers and Judge Lance Ito behaved properly during the trial. In the call-back portion of this survey, respondents were queried as to whether they agreed with the not-guilty verdict and whether they believed the jury spent enough time in deliberations. They were also queried as to whether the Simpson trial would make them less or more likely to serve on a jury and whether television had made a difference in the outcome. Respondents were asked for their opinions on the criminal justice system in general and whether it was biased for or against Blacks. Background information on respondents in the initial survey includes voter registration status, political party, political orientation, education, age, sex, race, and family income. Age is the only demographic information provided in the call-back.
Curated
Ethnicity and Homicide in California, 1850-1900 (ICPSR 9594)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, California
Time period: 1850-01-01--1900-01-01
This data collection explores the relationship between homicide and ethnicity in California during 1850-1900. The data are presented in three files. Part 1, Homicide, includes information on time, place, location, and cause of the crime for all murder cases in seven California counties. The relationship between the victim and the accused, and the race, sex, age, and occupation of each are also provided. Part 2, Indictment, includes information on criminal charge, plea, verdict, and sentence for all murder trials in the same seven counties during the time period. Part 3 provides information on all prisoners incarcerated in California for murder. Included are age, sex, ethnicity, place of birth, and occupation of each prisoner, as well as sentence, disposition of case, years served, and year in which the prisoner was released.
Curated
Evaluation of Hung Juries in Bronx County, New York, Los Angeles County, California, Maricopa County, Arizona, and Washington, DC, 2000-2001 (ICPSR 3689)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States, Washington, DC, California, New York (state), Arizona
Time period: 2000-01-01--2001-01-01
This study was undertaken for the purpose of providing an empirical picture of hung juries. Researchers were able to secure the cooperation of four courts: (1) Bronx County Supreme Court in New York, (2) Los Angeles County Superior Court in California, (3) Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona, and (4) District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington, DC. The four sites were responsible for distributing and collecting questionnaire packets to all courtrooms hearing non-capital felony jury cases. Each packet contained a case data form requesting information about case characteristics (Part 1) and outcomes (Part 2), as well as survey questionnaires for the judges (Part 3), attorneys (Part 4), and jurors (Part 5). The case data form requested type of charge, sentence range, jury's decision, demographic information about the defendant(s) and the victim(s), voir dire (jury selection process), trial evidence and procedures, and jury deliberations. The judge questionnaire probed for evaluation of the evidence, case complexity, attorney skill, likelihood that the jury would hang, reaction to the verdict, opinions regarding the hung jury rate in the jurisdiction, and experience on the bench. The attorney questionnaire requested information assessing the voir dire, case complexity, attorney skill, evaluation of the evidence, reaction to the verdict, opinions regarding the hung jury rate in the jurisdiction, and experience in legal practice. If the jury hung, attorneys also provided their views about why the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Finally, the juror questionnaire requested responses regarding case complexity, attorney skill, evaluation of the evidence, formation of opinions, dynamics of the deliberations including the first and final votes, juror participation, conflict, reaction to the verdict, opinions about applicable law, assessment of criminal justice in the community, and demographic information.
Curated
Jury Verdicts Database for Cook County, Illinois, and All Counties in California, 1960-1984 (ICPSR 6232)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States, Chicago, Illinois
This data collection contains information on jury verdict civil cases in Cook County, Illinois, and all counties in California. The RAND Corporation's Institute for Criminal Justice began this study in the early 1980s in response to widespread public interest in the magnitude of dollar verdicts returned in civil cases. The goal was to record salient information found in court reporter publications to allow for a wide range of future research. Two such publications were chosen because of their favorable reputations and because they both dated back to 1960: the "Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter" of Chicago, Illinois, and "Jury Verdicts Weekly" of Santa Rosa, California. The collection of data for this study was conducted in two phases. Phase I included cases from 1960-1979, and Phase II coded cases from 1980-1984, including a small number of cases from 1985. In both phases, only cases in which a jury reached a definitive outcome (including deadlocked or hung juries) were included. In Phase I, only San Francisco County cases from the California reporter publication were included. In Phase II, all California counties were included. For all cases in Phase I, a Main Form was completed that included jurisdiction, court type, dates of incidents and trial, information about parties involved, trial occurrences, outcome of trial, awards, and fees. In addition to this Main Form, at least one of nine different case-type forms was completed: Common Carrier-Passenger Form, Dram Shop Form, Injuries on Property/Attractive Nuisance Form, Malpractice Form, Miscellaneous Form, Products Liability Form, Street Hazards/Highway Construction Form, Traffic/Pedestrian/Rider Form, and Work Injuries and FELA Form. These forms contained questions regarding the behavior of each party in the case and other characteristics and facts relevant to the case. A Jury Verdicts Form was completed for all cases in Phase II. This form picked up general case-level and defendant-specific data such as dates and length of trial, case outcome, original number of parties involved, and collapsing of multiple defendants into one case. For each plaintiff, a Plaintiff Information Form was filled out containing general plaintiff information such as losses claimed and the coder's assessment of the degree of the plaintiff's comparative negligence. This form also indicated which of the loss forms was coded for this plaintiff (only one loss form was completed for each plaintiff): Death Action, Personal Injuries, or Money Damages. Each form contained basic information about the outcome of the case, specific damages claimed by the plaintiff, and loss-specific data. Additionally, an Ancillary Action Form was completed for any associated claims that were adjudicated at the time of the main case, such as counter-suits by defendants. The questions on this form were the same as those on the main Jury Verdicts Form. Finally, this study includes an Integrated Jury Verdicts Database (Part 33) containing data from both phases to permit easier analysis of data from all years. This database contains five sections: (1) the basic trial information, which includes the trial dates and lengths, reporter source, and jurisdiction, (2) the main case information, which includes more detailed data about the case such as number of parties involved, case type, types of losses claimed, and total compensatory and punitive awards, (3) information about the first ancillary action, (4) information about the second ancillary action, and (5) a listing of all the forms used.
Curated
Multnomah County [Oregon] Jury Project, 1973-1976 (ICPSR 9030)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: Oregon, United States, Portland (Oregon)
Time period: 1973-07-01--1976-03-01
The Multnomah County, Oregon, Jury Project was conducted as part of the Modeling Jury Decision Project funded by the National Science Foundation. These data represent a census of 32 jury panels that served from July 1973 through March 1976 in the Fourth Circuit Court in Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon. Information was obtained for both six-member and twelve-member juries. Data were collected from official court records, monthly juror panel summaries, and self-administered juror demographic data sheets. Information collected includes members of the jury, their votes, the final verdict, the type of case, the name of the judge, and the amount of time taken by the jury to arrive at a decision, as well as each juror's age, occupation, years of residence in Oregon, educational background, family information, and information on past juries and trials they were involved in. The data include both individual-level juror and aggregate jury case data, with information on 6,657 jurors and 1,159 trials.
Curated
Police Documentation of Drunk Driving Arrests, 1984-1987: Los Angeles, Denver, and Boston (ICPSR 9400)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States, Massachusetts, Colorado, Los Angeles, Denver, California, Boston
Time period: 1984-01-01--1987-01-01
These data measure the effects of blood alcohol content coupled with officer reports at the time of arrest on driving while intoxicated (DWI) case outcomes (jury verdicts and guilty pleas). Court records and relevant police reports for drunk-driving cases drawn from the greater metropolitan areas of Boston, Denver, and Los Angeles were compiled to produce this data collection. Cases were selected to include roughly equal proportions of guilty pleas, guilty verdicts, and not-guilty verdicts. DWI cases were compared on the quality and quantity of evidence concerning the suspect's behavior, with the evidence coming from any mention of 20 standard visual detection cues prior to the stop, 13 attributes of general appearance and behavior immediately after the stop, and the results of as many as 7 field sobriety tests. Questions concerned driving-under-the-influence cues (scoring sheet), observed traffic violations and actual traffic accidents, the verdict, DWI history, whether the stop resulted from an accident, whether the attorney was public or private, and sanctions that followed the verdict. Also included were demographic questions on age, sex, and ethnicity.
Curated
Private Prosecutions of Crime in England, 1194-1294 (ICPSR 1238)
Released/updated on: 2001-04-02
Geographic coverage: England, Global
Time period: 1194-01-01--1294-01-01
This dataset includes private prosecutions ("appeals") of homicide, rape, theft, assault, and other crimes from England between the years 1194 and 1294. The dataset includes information about more than 1,200 appeals from 14 English counties. Among the variables are the gender of the appellor, whether the appellor and appellee settled the case, and the jury verdict (if any). The cases are from printed and manuscript sources.
Curated
Slave Trials in Anderson and Spartanburg Counties, South Carolina, 1818-1861 (ICPSR 8674)
Released/updated on: 2007-09-18
Geographic coverage: United States, South Carolina
Time period: 1818-01-01--1861-01-01
This dataset is part of a larger data collection effort conducted by the principal investigator to study crime, justice, and penal reform in Massachusetts and South Carolina from 1760 to 1880. Data are presented in this file on over 600 slave trials in two counties of ante-bellum South Carolina from 1818 to 1861. Included are variables documenting the accused crime, verdict, punishment, and item stolen (if applicable), as well as the defendant's name, sex, status, owner, and date of the trial.
Curated
State Court Organization, 1998: [United States] (ICPSR 2854)
Released/updated on: 2006-03-30
Geographic coverage: United States
This data collection provides detailed comparative information about the structure, policies, and procedures of statewide trial and appellate court systems for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of July 1, 1998. Information gathered includes the number of courts and judges, judicial selection, governance of court systems, including judicial funding, administration, staffing, and procedures, jury qualifications and verdict rules, and processing and sentencing procedures of criminal cases.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
Washington Post Mayor Barry Verdict Poll, August 1990 (ICPSR 9555)
Released/updated on: 2015-05-05
Geographic coverage: District of Columbia, United States
This data collection focuses on issues related to the verdict in District of Columbia's mayor Marion Barry's trial. Respondents were asked if they thought Barry had received a fair trial, if the jury had done a good job, and if the federal government's investigation that led to Barry's indictment was racially motivated. They were also asked if they thought the news coverage of the Barry case had been generally fair, if the trial increased or decreased racial tensions in the District, and if Barry should have to serve some time in jail. Other questions investigated opinions on whether Barry should run for mayor or city council, whether he should be re-tried on some of the charges that the jury could not reach a verdict on, whether he should resign, and whether United States Attorney Jay Stephens should resign. Demographic variables include information on respondents' registered voter status, section of residence in the District, age, education, race, sex, and income.
Curated
Washington Post O.J. Simpson Verdict Poll, October 1995 (ICPSR 6679)
Released/updated on: 1998-05-20
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll sought respondents' views on the O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict and its effect on race relations in the United States. Respondents were asked for their opinions regarding the trial's verdict, the guilt or innocence of Simpson, whether justice was served in the case, and the treatment of minorities in the criminal justice system. Those queried were asked to comment on how the trial's verdict had affected race relations in the United States and the respondents' confidence in the justice system. Questions were also posed regarding the composition of the jury, specifically the aptitude of the jury and how the verdict would change if the demographics of the jury were altered. Other topics covered current racism versus ten years ago, race and the police, the role of Detective Mark Furhman in the Simpson case, the existence of a white establishment, and the possibility that Black jurors used Simpson's race as a justification for acquittal. Demographic variables include age, race, sex, education, family income, and social class.