Juror comprehension and complexity - Strategies to enhance understanding

Recent law reform debate proposes the complexity of trials as generally red ucing juror comprehension. This in turn is said to impact on the accuracy o f the verdict. The empirical studies of three very different jury systems e xamined in detail in the paper challenge these assumptions against problema tic measures of complexity. Critics of the jury, particularly in commercial fraud trials, often take the issue of trial complexity as a given. The stu dies demonstrate that features of the trial which trouble jurors in terms o f concentration, comprehension and decision making are consistent, while of ten specific to the trial and interrelated. The paper argues for a more sop histicated analysis of trial complexity to precede further empirical testin g of the relationship between complexity, comprehension and verdict deliver y. This is crucial as a foundation for any policy reform regarding verdict delivery mechanisms on the basis of trial complexity.