BBM
But the concern wouldn't be what a jury foreperson (or any other juror) SAYS or necessarily even what they THOUGHT explained their vote. There are lots of experiments showing
unconscious effects on preferences and
unconscious factors that affect decisions and affect openness to persuasion.
For example, in a study purportedly of consumer preferences participants were shown an exhibit of products. (Pantyhose-- it was an older study) The different pairs were rotated in their positions in the display across participants. People showed a high preference for whatever the pair was on the right when they viewed the display. But they didn't say "I liked it because it was on the right." Rather, they said things such as I liked the color, the texture, the "feel" of that pair etc. Turns out, right-handed people (about 85% of the population) unconsciously prefer stuff on the right. People also show a preference for the familiar. Hence the litter of campaign signs that pop up before every election. I have never heard a voter say "I voted for Smith for water commissioner because his signs were everywhere" but research suggest that DOES happen. Not with every voter, obviously, but it may happen enough that Smith wins if his opponent posted fewer signs.
And there is a lot of research showing pre-trial information
does affect jury decisions. For example,
Pretrial Publicity’s Effects on Jurors’ and Judges’ Decisions (Chapter 7) - The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Legal Decision-Making
"Pretrial publicity includes all media coverage (traditional and social media) of cases making their way to trial. Although many jurors believe they can ignore what they have read or heard about the case, and many judges believe they can effectively rehabilitate jurors exposed to PTP, this is typically not the case."
In BK's case, the gag order is supposed to help curtail pre-trial publicity. And I can see the logic in closing hearings...but that needs to be ALL hearings, IMO, not just picking and choosing which ones to close. IMO
both sides are trying to work pre-trial publicity to their advantage. And they wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't, I guess.
IMO