The Reactions of Mock Jurors to the Department of Justice Guidelines for the Collection and Preservation of Eyewitness Evidence

Abstract

Failure to follow the recommended guidelines for conducting lineups set forth by the Department of Justice (DOJ) could result in fewer convictions. To test this supposition, mock jurors read 1 of 3 versions of a court transcript. In 1 version, no issues were raised about how the investigating officer conducted the photo array. In the second version, 2 procedural errors made by the investigator were highlighted. In the third version, the defense attorney highlighted 2 procedural errors and mentioned that these errors violated the DOJ guidelines. Mock jurors informed of the procedural errors their violation of the DOJ guidelines found the prosecution's case against the defendant to be weaker than mock jurors in the other 2 conditions. Also, mock jurors informed of the procedural errors were less likely to find the defendant guilty than mock jurors in the other 2 conditions. Thus, the failure of law enforcement to implement the DOJ guidelines could be used to discredit the prosecution's case in the jurors' eyes.