Juror Stress Debriefing: A Review of the Literature and an Evaluation of a Yukon Program
Date
2008
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Publisher
Yukon Department of Justice.
Abstract
In 2005, the Yukon Department of Justice received funding from Justice Canada to set up a pilot project to research the jury experience in the Yukon during the course of homicide trials that were expected to take place during the following two years. The intent of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness of providing jury debriefing sessions in mitigating stress that jurors may experience as a result of serving on these juries. The study would contribute to the modernization of the justice system in the north and in small communities by providing valuable information about the impact on jurors of the experience of being involved in long and complex trials. The project examined the stresses that Canadian jurors experience when they sit on trials that are lengthy, complex and that contain large volumes of information that may often be disturbing. It considered what kinds of assistance might be appropriate to debrief juries so that they could deal effectively with emotionally distressing information to which they were exposed during the course of the trial. The project also examined the particular stresses that inhabitants of small communities with a significant Aboriginal population experience as a result of sitting on juries in those communities. A further aspect of the project was to look at the limits of doing research on juries in Canada given the restrictions set out in s. 649 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this project was to determine the extent to which the delivery of debriefing services to jurors responds to their mental health needs and improves the administration of justice. The project had three major components: (1) a review of the literature on jury stress; (2) the development and implementation of a model for the delivery of counseling services to jurors; and (3) an evaluation of the implementation of the model. The specific research questions to be addressed were: (1) What literature is available on the effects on jurors of sitting on trials that deal with disturbing subject matter? (2) What literature is available on the various means of dealing with juror stress? (3) To what extent was the Yukon program implemented as intended? (4) What were the effects on jurors of serving on murder trials in the Yukon? Did they experience critical incident stress? Did this stress decrease over time? x (5) Did the debriefing services assist jurors in dealing with any critical incident stress they experienced? Did jurors seek out any additional services, e.g., counseling? (6) Were any effects attributable to living in a small Northern community? What were they?
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Citation
Bertrand, L.D, Paetsch, J.J., Anand, S. (2008). Juror Stress Debriefing: A Review of the Literature and an Evaluation of a Yukon Program. Whitehorse, YK: Yukon Department of Justice.