| This research examined the effectiveness of voir dire as a remedy for bias initiated by prejudicial pretrial publicity (PTP). In Study 1, an actual criminal case that has been the subject of extensive local and national publicity was used in a simulation of jury selection under two conditions, judge-only voir dire or judge + attorney voir dire. Study 2 manipulated exposure to PTP (PTP, no PTP) as well as voir dire condition (judge-only voir dire, judge + attorney voir dire) in a different, fictional case. Study 1 demonstrated that judge + attorney-conducted voir dire, but not judge-only voir dire served can serve as an effective remedy against bias ostensibly gained through natural exposure to PTP. In Study 2, both types of voir dire appeared to remedy potential bias resulting from PTP. Ramifications of these results are discussed.;Keywords: pre-trial publicity, jury, bias, voir dire. |
