Jury Unanimity - Should juries be required to reach unanimous verdicts?
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on April 20, 2020 in Ramos v. Louisiana, that jury unanimity is required to convict a defendant of serious criminal offense. See the opinion and dissenting opinion here. See also the amicus brief submitted on behalf of Ramos by a group of law professors and social scientists.
Jury Representativeness - How representative are American juries?
Witnesses: Eyewitness Identification -What factors are linked to accurate eyewitness identification?
In 2020, a subcommittee of the American Psychology-Law Society updated the 1998 policy and procedure recommendations for conducting eyewitness identification procedures. The article can be found here.
Predictions of Future Dangerousness - How well can we predict future violence? Can civil commitment of sexually violent predators be justified?
Trademarks - How is social science employed in trademark cases to demonstrate consumer confusion?
Research Methods - This page identifies resources on research methodology, statistics, and empirical legal studies.
Death Penalty - What do research studies show about the death penalty's deterrant value, and the link between capital punishment and race?
Gender Discrimination - What does social science add to legal cases involving claims of gender discrimination?
Wrongful Convictions - Observers of the criminal justice system have long suspected that some convicted defendants were innocent. In a session presented at Cornell University’s sesquicentennial, scholars highlighted the disturbing cases of two individuals - Kirk Bloodsworth and Ada JoAnn Taylor.
Child Witnesses – Read the amicus brief coauthored by Stephen Ceci, Helen L. Carr Professor of Developmental Psychology, Cornell University, on his work with child witnesses for the U.S. Supreme Court case of Ohio v. Clark.