The Dilemma of the Criminal Defendant with a Prior Record – Lessons from the Wrongfully Convicted
Journal of Empirical Studies, forthcoming By John H. Blume

ABSTRACT:This article examines challenges the conventional wisdom that an innocent defendants will testify on their own behalf at trial. Data gathered from the cases of persons subsequently exonerated due to DNA evidence demonstrates that factually innocent defendants do not testify on their own behalf at substantially higher rates than criminal defendants generally. Why' The primary reason is that many of these individuals had been previously convicted of a crime, and they did not testify at trial because of the risk that their credibility would be impeached with evidence of the prior record and, despite any limiting instruction the court might give, the jury would infer that they were guilty based on their prior misdeeds. Because the current legal regime discourages defendants, even factually innocent defendants from telling their story at trial, the law should be changed. Only prior convictions for perjury should be potentially available for impeachment purposes.

After the Crash: Citizens' Perceptions of Connective-Tissue Injury Lawsuits
Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper.
By Valerie P. Hans

ABSTRACT: Even though automobile accident cases comprise a substantial portion of the state jury trial caseload, the humble automobile case has attracted minimal scholarly attention. However, many members of the public believe that whiplash, a connective-tissue or soft-tissue injury from auto accidents, is oftentimes fraudulent. To explore public perceptions, a national survey included a scenario experiment that varied types of minor injuries from an automobile accident. As predicted, the plaintiff who experienced a bone fracture was seen as more likely to be suffering a real injury than a plaintiff who reported suffering from a connective-tissue injury. The fracture was also viewed as more serious than the connective-tissue injury, despite the fact that the consequences for the plaintiff were described in identical terms. The role of personal experience and demographic and attitudinal characteristics in responses to these injuries was explored.