Criminal Law Library Blog
A recent paper very useful to all who are involved with the courts and the judiciary. The Abstract appears below:
LAURIE L. LEVENSON
Loyola Law School Los Angeles
——————————————————————————–
Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming
Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2007-30
Abstract:
The American criminal courtroom is a theater where courtroom actors play out the guilt or innocence of the defendant for the jury to assess. Although one view of the courtroom is that of a controlled atmosphere where cases are decided based only on formal evidence, this view is undoubtedly unrealistic. Trials are affected by many factors, including the appearance and demeanor of the defendant. This article proposes an approach to deal with non-testifying demeanor evidence that occurs outside the witness box. Given the problems with having jurors rely on demeanor evidence, courts should be carefully monitoring the use of non-testifying demeanor evidence. Appropriate jury instructions should be given, including those warning jurors on proper use of such evidence.
Accepted Paper Series
——————————————————————————–
Suggested Citation
Levenson, Laurie L., “Courtroom Demeanor: The Theater of the Courtroom” . Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=999471