Inadmissible Evidence and Pretrial Publicity: The Effects (and Ineffectiveness) of Admonitions to Disregard

Abstract

This chapter discusses the findings of social science studies that have examined the effects of pretrial publicity. It examines relevant research regarding the biasing effects that pretrial publicity and inadmissible evidence may have. The chapter focuses on the effects of admonishing jurors to ignore inadmissible information revealed in court. Empirical research has demonstrated that admonitions are relatively ineffective and sometimes produce a backfire effect, resulting in jurors relying more heavily on information they have been instructed to disregard. The issue of admonition ineffectiveness is explored through the application of several social psychological theories, including belief perseverance, the hindsight bias, reactance theory, and the theory of ironic processes of mental control. However, in the United States, First Amendment guarantees of free speech force courts to turn to alternative means of controlling the effects of publicity on jurors, including issuing continuances or changing the venue, relying on voir dire, and admonishing jurors to disregard what they have heard outside the courtroom.