Can the impact on jurors of alcohol use be reduced in dangerous driving cases? Online Jury Research Update
Dangerous driving resulting in the death of another person is judged more harshly by jurors when alcohol is involved. Dolnik and colleagues (2003) investigated what might limit the impact of a defendant's alcohol use in a criminal case involving dangerous driving (speeding) that occasioned death. The case involved a defendant driving home from a party when a head-on collision occurred between two cars in which a young woman died and the defendant suffered only minor injuries. Mock jurors read a case summary that included testimony from both prosecution witnesses (a forensic police expert who examined the accident scene, ambulance officer,