The first event of this programme was held on Tuesday 25th - Wednesday 26th August 2009 in the Institute for Advanced Studies, James Weir Building, Montrose Street, Glasgow.  This event considered the indentification of miscarriages of justice, and how the legal system deals with claims of innocence.  The second day examined how forensic sciences may impact upon miscarriages of justice.

A full programme for this event can be found here. 

Speakers included:

Tuesday 25th August 2009

Michael Naughton – Innocence Network UK
Sandra Lean – Does the portrayal of the system effect beliefs onto those in the system? Language and understanding; areas of underdevelopment
Peter Duff – Views from beyond the SCCRC
John Mayer – Views from the Scottish Bar
Peter Hill – A Proposed Reform Group
Sandra Lean - The need for a step between the current system and policy makers

Wednesday 26th August 2009

Michael Bromby – Peaks and Troughs. Will the SCCRC continue to receive a steady rate of applications? Why do successful cases not appear to cause a deluge of other cases?
Michael Naughton – Innocence as a Lens
Rhonda Wheate – Jury Research. Is the time ripe for further enquiry into the mechanics of juries, decision making, and their ability to understand evidence?
Burkhard Schafer – Is reasonable doubt reasonable - Larry Laudan's epistemology and the SCCRC
Round table discussion
Amina Memon – The role of the forensic psychologist. Are research findings backing up policy and development in Scotland?

Learn more
If you are interested in hearing more about this programme, please email the programme convener.

Legal Education

The second phase of the programme was a series of events to examine the student experience gained from participating in Innocence Project casework with clients claiming innocence despite a criminal conviction.

The first event was a planning meeting to be held at Glasgow Caledonian University involving stake holders in the GCU Innocence Project.  Subsequent events tooj place at the Institute to establish student placements and research projects with the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (MOJO).

The second event was held on Monday 26th and Thursday 29th October 2009 in the Institute for Advanced Studies, James Weir Building, Montrose Street, Glasgow to commence work on an annotated bibliography and to evaluate how work-related learning principles are embedded in project work.  The programme of events is available here.

Jury Research

The final event within the programme was a two day conference and networking event for UK researchers in the field of jury research.  Despite a perceived ban on jury research, many researchers use mock-juries or theoretical models in their work.  This event in March 2010 was an opportunity for researchers to present their work and discuss pertinent issues in this area. The aims of this symposium were to bring together academics and practitioners from a range of disciplines including law, criminology, psychology, social sciences and humanities to explore the most recent developments in jury research. The symposium addressed a number of issues, including:

The Jury and the Law (including judges and lawyers)
The Jury, the Accused and the Complainer
The Jury and Witnesses
The Jury and Its Jurors
The Jury and External Influences
The Jury and the Future

Full details of the different themes of the Symposium can be downloaded here and the current programme, abstracts and directory of delegates are available.

The Jury Research Symposium took place at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th March 2010.  The keynote speaker, Prof Cheryl Thomas recently reported to the Ministry of Justice on a large study of jurors and juries in the UK.  Her report can be accessed here.

The symposium was organised by Rhonda Wheate, Michael Bromby and Rachel McPherson and sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies, the Institute for Society & Social Justice Research and Glasgow Caledonian University.

Please contact Rhonda Wheate with any queries.