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Book Review

Book Review N. J. Kressel and D. F. Kressel. Stack and Sway: The New Science of Jury Consulting. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2002. ISBN 0‐8133‐9772‐3 (312 pp., $27.50). The authors trace the development of social scientific jury consultation in the last quarter century, evaluate its contribution to the justice system, and suggest certain fundamental changes in jury selection. The comprehensiveness in treatment of issues and players is commendable, and no one interested in jury work should miss this tour de force. Our approval of the authors' success in evaluating the social contributions of jury consulting is mixed, however. Proposals for limiting peremptory challenges and expanding challenges for cause in the selection of juries are worthy of serious consideration, but the repeated cri de coeurthat jury consultants are sullying the temple and unbalancing the scales of justice (e.g., see p. 226) misses the mark and borders on sanctimony. Juries are not sacred institutions but imperfect mechanisms for dispute resolution. An excess of moralizing is not this book's strongest point. There are several substantive shortcomings. Paucity of coverage of consulting in civil trials is a weakness, particularly since the vast majority of professional jury consultants work in the civil area. The use of http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy Wiley

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
1529-7489
eISSN
1530-2415
DOI
10.1111/j.1530-2415.2003.00028.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

N. J. Kressel and D. F. Kressel. Stack and Sway: The New Science of Jury Consulting. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2002. ISBN 0‐8133‐9772‐3 (312 pp., $27.50). The authors trace the development of social scientific jury consultation in the last quarter century, evaluate its contribution to the justice system, and suggest certain fundamental changes in jury selection. The comprehensiveness in treatment of issues and players is commendable, and no one interested in jury work should miss this tour de force. Our approval of the authors' success in evaluating the social contributions of jury consulting is mixed, however. Proposals for limiting peremptory challenges and expanding challenges for cause in the selection of juries are worthy of serious consideration, but the repeated cri de coeurthat jury consultants are sullying the temple and unbalancing the scales of justice (e.g., see p. 226) misses the mark and borders on sanctimony. Juries are not sacred institutions but imperfect mechanisms for dispute resolution. An excess of moralizing is not this book's strongest point. There are several substantive shortcomings. Paucity of coverage of consulting in civil trials is a weakness, particularly since the vast majority of professional jury consultants work in the civil area. The use of

Journal

Analyses of Social Issues & Public PolicyWiley

Published: Dec 1, 2003

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