The Impact of Jury Service on Scottish Jurors’ Health and Well‐Being
| Author | EMMA WELSH,GRAHAM DAVIES,NOELLE ROBERTSON,LANA IRELAND |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12346 |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
The Howard Journal Vol59 No 1. March 2020 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12346
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 3–16
The Impact of Jury Service on
Scottish Jurors’ Health and
Well-Being
EMMA WELSH, NOELLE ROBERTSON, LANA IRELAND
andGRAHAMDAVIES
Emma Welsh is a Graduate Student and Lana Ireland a Lecturer, Department
of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University; Noelle Robertson is Professor
of Clinical Psychology and Graham Davies is Professor Emeritus, School of
Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester
Abstract: Research by Robertson, Davies and Nettleingham (2009) suggested a minority
of jurors in English and Welsh courts experience significant short- and longer-term
distress from undertaking jury service. This study extended the research to jurors in
Scottish trials, with their distinct conventions and procedures. Jurors completed web-
based questionnaires measuring juror distress, trauma symptoms, and personal resilience.
Results replicated those from England and Wales,showing that some Scottish jurors also
experience deterioration in physical and psychological well-being, with female jurors,
those sitting in longer trials, and dealing with crimes against the person, being most
affected. Traitresilience did not mitigate such effects.
Keywords: juries; Scottish incidence; stress; trauma
In the UK, the USA and most Commonwealth countries, jury service is
considered a civic duty which all citizens should undertake (Bornstein and
Greene 2017; Scottish Government 2008; Vidmar 2000). Involvement in
jury service means that jurors are displaced from their normal routines,
placed among strangers, listen to sometimes distressed witnesses giving
harrowing evidence, and then face the responsibility of reaching a group
decision on the guilt of the accused. Throughout this process, jurors in the
UK are forbidden under the penalty of law to share their concerns and
reactions with others outside the jury room, both then and in the future.
All these stages of the jury process have the capacity to impact on the
mental health and well-being of the individuals involved (Dabbs 1992;
Robertson, Davies and Nettleingham 2009), both in the short term, and for
more vulnerable individuals, their long-term mental health and well-being
(Diamond 1993; Sicafuse, Chomos and Miller 2013). Given the centrality
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