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A Model of Pretrial Prejudice in a High Profile Case. The Sixth Amendment guarantees each criminal defendant a trial by an unbiased jury, one able to evaluate impartially the facts presented as evidence at trial. In high profile cases, this guarantee may be jeopardized due to the amount and kind of media coverage. A research project is underway at the Center that analyzes data from actual venue surveys in capital cases in an effort to develop a model of pretrial prejudgment of defendants. The model will be constructed using variables that are available from the venue surveys, such as attitudes toward the criminal justice system, awareness of the case, information about the defendant and the crime, judgments about the guilt of the defendant, media use, and the social and demographic characteristics of the respondent. Ron Dillehay and Craig New are the primary researchers from the Center responsible for this project. Also involved in this project is J. Scott Shonkwiler, from the Department of Applied Economics and Statistics at UNR. Portions of this research were presented at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Western Psychological Association.
Study of Science-Based Educational Programs for Judges. The Center has recently completed a major research project sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center, titled "Science Education Programs for the State and Federal Judiciary at Year 2001." The purpose of the project was to update the findings of the 1992 survey conducted by the Carnegie Commission Task Force on Science and Technology in Judicial and Regulatory Decision Making. Research assistants Mara Merlino (Project Coordinator), Roni Dahir, and Dionne Maxwell, under the direction of Director, Ron Dillehay, were responsible for this project. The current report provides an organized inventory of offerings on science education available to judges during the period 1992 through 2000. As such the report serves to indicate the recent history of judicial science education. It brings together in one place offerings from diverse providers of judicial education (e.g., national education organizations, law schools, institutes, State Court Administrator Offices) that contain at least some component of science in courses, seminars, workshops, or other instructional formats. The report identifies these providers, locates them by state and organization, and classifies their offerings according to the major realm or field of science covered in their educational programs. The report also lists multiple judicial science education offerings for some providers, making it possible to identify institutions or organizations that engage in more substantial judicial education activities.
Washoe County Office of Court Services Project: Predictors of Failure to Appear. With the Washoe County Office of Court Services, a project under the supervision of Bryan Edelman, research assistant, and Dr. Ronald Dillehay, Center Director, is underway to explore predictors of successful release into the community of those arrested and awaiting trial and to assess the current release scheme. This study entails an evaluation of existing data that were collected by Court Services, the Washoe County Detention Center, and the court of jurisdiction that presided over each case in 1999. Subjects in this study will be selected from the population of arrestees interviewed by Court Services at the Washoe County Detention Center for early pretrial release in 1999. The sample frame will consist of all arrestees processed by the detention center, and will be provided by Court Services. Data collection began last fall and will be used to predict risks associated with the release of those arrested and awaiting trial in Washoe County by utilizing information collected
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