Juries, Science and Popular Culture in the Age of Terror

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Understanding Terrorism Trials

   • David Tait

   Pages 1-9

3. The Legal Landscape in Terrorism Trials

   • Jacqueline Horan, Jane Goodman-Delahunty

   Pages 11-35

4. Terrorist Trials: Forensic Science and the Trial Process

   • Chris Lennard, Anne Wallace

   Pages 37-54

5. Animating the Bomber: The Sydney Bomber Trial

   • Christina Spiesel, Greg Battye, Neal Feigenson

   Pages 55-65

6. Gruesome Evidence: The Use of Beheading Videos and Other Disturbing Pictures in Terrorism Trials

   • Christina Spiesel

   Pages 67-85

7. Assessing Unfair Prejudice from Extremist Images in Terrorism Trials

   • Jane Goodman-Delahunty

   Pages 87-121

8. Displaying the Bomb on the Train: The Challenge of Preparing Visual Evidence

   • Damian Schofield

   Pages 123-143

9. Research Aims and Methods

   • David Tait, Jane Goodman-Delahunty

   Pages 145-160

10. The Sydney Bomber Study: Introducing the Mock Jurors

    • David Tait

    Pages 161-172

11. Images of Interactive Virtual Environments: Do They Affect Verdict?

    • David Tait, Jane Goodman-Delahunty

    Pages 173-191

12. How Juries Talked About Visual Evidence

    • Greg Battye, Meredith Rossner

    Pages 193-215

13. CSI Effects on Jury Reasoning and Verdicts

    • Jane Goodman-Delahunty, David Tait

    Pages 217-233

14. The Effect of Deliberation on Jury Verdicts

    • David Tait, Jane Goodman-Delahunty

    Pages 235-248

15. Making Sense of the Evidence: Jury Deliberation and Common Sense

    • David Tait, Meredith Rossner

    Pages 249-271

16. Conclusions

    • David Tait, Jane Goodman-Delahunty

    Pages 273-285

17. Back Matter

    Pages 287-292

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Terrorism has become an everyday reality in most contemporary societies. In a context of heightened fear can juries be trusted to remain impartial when confronted by defendants charged with terrorism? Do they scrutinize prosecution cases carefully, or does emotion trump reason once the spectre of terrorism is invoked? This book examines these questions from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The authors look at the how jurors in terrorism trials are likely to respond to gruesome evidence, including beheading videos. The 'CSI effect' is examined as a possible response to forensic evidence, and jurors with different learning preferences are compared. Virtual interactive environments, built like computer games, may be created to provide animated reconstructions of the prosecution or defence case. This book reports on how to create such presentations, culminating in the analysis of a live simulated trial using interactive visual displays followed by jury deliberations. 


The team of international, transdisciplinary experts draw conclusions of global legal and political significance, and contribute to the growing scholarship on comparative counter-terrorism law. The book will be of great interest to scholars, students and practitioners of law, criminal justice, forensic science and psychology.

• socio-legal studies
• criminal law
• criminology
• legal psychology
• trials
• democracy
• deliberation
• bias
• extremism
• counter-terrorism,
• evidence
• visual media
• interactive virtual environment
• international relations
• forensic science
• courts
• sentencing
• judges
• culture
• political science
• political violence
• terrorism

• Western Sydney University, Australia, Penrith, Australia

  David Tait

• Charles Sturt University, Australia, Manly, Australia

  Jane Goodman-Delahunty

David Tait is Professor of Justice Research at Western Sydney University, Australia, and Adjunct Professor at Telecom Paristech, France. His research focuses on how to make justice environments and processes more humane. His recent work includes Fortress or Sanctuary: Enhancing Court Safety by Managing People, Places and Processes (2014), and reviews of the prejudicial effect of the dock in criminal trials. 



Jane Goodman-Delahunty is a Research Professor at Charles Sturt University, Australia, and Member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Her recent books include Legal Psychology in Australia (2015), Trends in Legal Advocacy: Interviews with Leading Prosecutors and Defence Lawyers around the Globe (2016) and Juries and Expert Evidence in Criminal Trials (2016).

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