Passing Time During Jury Duty: Should we be concerned how someone chooses to pass their time?

    Being selected for jury duty probably means a lot of waiting. People find many different ways to kill time during this long process including drawing, knitting, working, and even possibly juggling. But the most common and the thing that courts actually suggest to people online is to bring a book and read while they wait. But, should we be concerned about what they are doing? Should be be concerned with what they are reading? Does what they are doing or what their reading affect how they might decide a case as a juror?

The Research

    

    The research suggests that reading and a persons "fantasy engagement" may be an indicator as to how lenient they may be as a juror. Barnes 2021.  One recent study used the Interpersonal Reactivity Scale, a scale used to measure a persons level of empathy, in order to look at how four categories within empathy relate to leniency: perspective taking, empathetic concern, personal distress, and fantasy. In the study the "jurors" had to fill out a demographic form and an interpersonal reactivity questionnaire. Then, they had to read a fake case and give a verdict. Through this study, the researcher was able to focus on the persons' tendency to put themself in the place of the fictional character in the case they read and embody the character's feelings, thought, and actions. 

    

    The study found that those people who have a higher fantasy score, and a higher tendency to put themselves in the fictional character's place, are more likely to be more empathic and be more lenient. The study found that no matter how high or low the other 3 factors of measuring empathy were, the fantasy factor was the only factor that directly related to leniency. It suggests that there is a difference when you are reading for the context (the way you would read a research paper or a court case) and when you are reading for vicarious experience (the way you would read a fiction book). It makes sense that someone who is going to put themselves in the persons shoes is going to be more likely to show more empathy for them whether they are the "innocent" or the "guilty." 

The Impact

    

    This research confirms the idea that what a person does to pass the time during jury duty and what they are reading may have a direct impact on how lenient they will be. It seems only fair to assume that people who are drawn to fantasy are going to be more likely to read fictional books and only people who really enjoy reading these books are going to pass their time reading a book at all. Thus, maybe we should be considering whether they were reading a book in order to determine whether they will be an empathetic juror. Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm. But this only shows their likelihood of empathy, not who they are going to show this empathy towards. 

    Maybe the empathy will help the plaintiff, the one that was "hurt" but maybe the empathy will help the defendant because the juror has put themselves in their place and now feels bad for them even though they hurt the plaintiff. So maybe it is really based on who has placed themselves in the center of the story and who has done the best at allowing the jurors to put themselves in that person's place. Do you want to invoke empathy and tell you story in a way that the jurors are going to put themselves in the person's place? Feel their feelings and think their thoughts? Then maybe you should choose the empathetic juror - the juror who passes their time during jury duty reading a book.