Forensic psychology guidelines applied to jury consulting/selection

Forensic psychology guidelines applied to jury consulting/selection

Introduction

The study of mental operation, functions and behaviors of human beings is known as psychology. As perceived by layman, psychology is the branch of science that deals with the understanding of the human brain and its performance. The behavioral pattern of an individual is analyzed, and assessment is built on it. This is done in cases when individuals face social problems such as personality disorders, schizophrenia or anxiety disorders. The scope of psychology is not limited to the study of human nature or just clinical practices of it. It diversifies to the limitless areas such as environmental psychology, forensic psychology or political side. These fields fall into the category of applied psychology. These fields have started to flourish already in developed country but are making its routes in the other developing regions of the world. The field of forensic psychology is half way between the legal system and psychology. Forensic psychology deals with the use of psychological concepts with the law and criminal investigations. The hype of this field has recently increased due to the media portrayal in movie, television or sometimes even in books. The following paper elucidates the use of forensic psychology with regard to the subject of mental operation.

Discussion

The specialists practice psychology in the civil courts or other parts of criminal justice system. For this purpose, the psychologists need to have a clear understanding of the laws of criminology in order to make the best choices. The interactions with the attorneys, judges and other experts of the legal system is made appropriately when there is proper know how of applicable criminal laws and territorial jurisdictions. People think the use of forensic psychology in the legal system is limited to involvement in insurance claims, lawsuits and custody arguments. It is believed that these psychologists work in family courts offering psychotherapy and resolving reports of child abuse (Rogers, 1988). However, the truth is quite the contrary. The work of forensic psychologists is not as petty as that, but they are involved in decisions as significant as jury consultancy. These psychologists are called upon to bridge the gap between law and the science of psychology. The field of forensic psychology and legal system intersect at many points. There's a critical part of forensic psychology in our legal system these days, from the preliminary accusation of criminal charge to the negotiation process.

Human error is always a possibility while taking decision, and when decisions are necessary as someone's life at stake, error is not even a possibility. Lawyers, jurors, witnesses and judges are sometimes unconsciously biased due to past incidents or experiences. This might lead to wrong decision making. This is where the forensic psychologists take over. Their job is to get clear insight of a human brain and based on that, the psychologists utilize this insight to shape objective legal proceedings. During the last few decades, the scope of forensic psychology has increased tremendously (Monahan, ...