What social science teaches us about the jury instruction process

This article critically examines the social science research relevant to evaluating the effectiveness of judicial. instructions. For several decades it has been shown repeatedly that jurors' comprehension of instructions is poor. Consequently, factors that contribute to instruction ineffectiveness are examined. In addition to focusing on the general problem of instruction comprehension, this article reviews limitations associated with a variety of specific types of instructions. Fortunately, several solutions for improving comprehension rates have been empirically demonstrated, the most notable of these being rewriting instructions based on commonly accepted psycholinguistic principles. Other solutions are also addressed. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for public policy.