DO JURIES LISTEN TO JURY INSTRUCTIONS

The author reports the case in which he was sued for medical malpracti ce. A nonunanimous jury found in favor of the plaintiff. Interviews of two of the jurors revealed that the jury discounted the expert testim ony on both sides, the evidence, and the jury instructions. The author , finding that the jury decided the case based upon it's perception of the physician's ''bedside manner,'' concludes that juries expect psyc hiatrists to behave more like friendly family doctors than objective p sychoanalysts.