Ride the Lightning

THE “CSI EFFECT” – THE MODERN JURY

November 30, 2007

Who would have imagined that the TV show CSI would spawn a “CSI Effect” that litigators routinely worry about when selecting juries? We simply can’t watch “CSI,” at least not when computer forensics constitutes part of the plot. John becomes livid and lectures the actors on their manifold technical inaccuracies – at full volume, as though that might allow them to hear and correct their behavior. All he accomplishes is alarming our labs, who think Dad has gone bonkers. But for viewers who are not forensics technologists, CSI is gospel, and they have obviously come to expect glossy CSI style forensics in criminal cases. Attorneys have had to deal with the “CSI effect” and are not especially happy about it. Prosecutors don’t want juries who require CSI style scientific evidence before finding defendants guilty and defense attorneys don’t want jurors who take scientific evidence as irrefutable. The somewhat comic effect has been that attorneys are now frequently quizzing potential jurors on their TV viewing habits. An article discussing this effect may be found at http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173353617726&path=

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