Lora Levett
Assistant Professor of Criminology
Turlington 3336
P.O. Box 117330
Gainesville, FL 32611
352-392-0265, ext 205
llevett@ufl.edu
Lora M. Levett, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminology
Voir Dire in Juvenile Waiver Cases
This series of studies examines the effects of voir dire in juvenile waiver trials on jury decision making. Specifically, we have found that the types of questions asked during voir dire in juvenile waiver trials (e.g., "Could you find the defendant guilty knowing he may face time in an adult facility?") are similar to the types of questions asked in capital voir dire (e.g., "Could you find the defendant guilty knowing the he will face the death penalty?"). In both types of cases, jurors who answer negatively are dismissed for cause. Research has demonstrated that the 'death qualification' process not only changes the composition of the jury, but maks the jury more conviction prone. This area of research is testing whether 'juvenile waiver qualification' results in similar effects.
Publications and Recent Conference Presentations on Voir Dire in Juvenile Waiver Cases:
Levett, L.M., Crocker, C. & Kovera, M.B. (2010). When juveniles are tried as adults: The predictive validity of the Juvenile Waiver Attitudes Scale. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Diego, CA.
Greathouse, S.M., Levett, L,M., Sothmann, F.K. &
Kovera, M.B. (2008). Effects of voir dire on juror decisions in juvenile waiver
cases. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association,
Boston, Massachusetts.
Levett, L.M., Greathouse, S.M., Sothmann, F.K., Copple, R.
& Kovera, M.B. (2007). Juvenile
waiver attitudes and the quality of deliberation. Poster presented at the
meetings of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
Greathouse,
S.M., Levett, L.M. & Kovera,
M.B. (2006). The Effects of Voir Dire on Juror Decisions in Juvenile Waiver
Cases. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society,
St. Petersburg, Florida.
Crocker,
C., Levett, L.M., & Kovera,
M.B., (2006). The predictive validity of the juvenile waiver scale and its
generalizability across participant groups. Poster presented at the meeting of
the American Psychology-Law Society, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Levett, L.M., Greathouse, S.M., Sothmann, F.K., Copple, R.
& Kovera, M.B. (2006). When
juveniles are tried as adults: Does the juvenile qualification process result
in a bias jury? In E.M. Brank & L.M. Levett (Co-Chairs), Players in the
Juvenile Justice Puzzle: From Public Sentiment to Putting it into Practice. conducted
at the meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Sothmann,
F.K., Rosenthal, M., Greathouse, S.M., Levett,
L.M., & Kovera, M.B. (2006). The effects of voir dire questions on a
juvenile waiver case. Paper presented at the meeting of the American
Psychology-Law Society, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Levett, L.M. & Kovera, M.B. (2005). Racial differences in
attitudes toward juvenile waiver to adult court: A meta-analyses. Paper
presented at the meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Toronto,
Canada.
Levett, L. M., & Kovera, M. B. (2005).
Do attitudes toward juvenile
waiver affect juror decisions? An evaluation of the Juvenile Waiver Scale. Paper presented at the meetings of the
American Psychology-Law Society, La Jolla, CA.
Levett, L.M., Danielsen, E., & Kovera, M.B. (2004). The predictive validity of the Juvenile
Waiver Scale. In M.B. Kovera & L.M. Levett (Co-Chairs), New directions in jury selection and trial
consulting research. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the
American Psychology-Law Society, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Levett, L.M., Danielsen, E., & Kovera, M.B. (2004). The construction of a Juvenile Waiver Scale.
Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society,
Scottsdale, Arizona.
Levett, L.M., Danielsen, E., & Kovera, M.B. (2003). Racial differences in
attitudes toward juvenile waiver to adult court. Paper presented at the meeting of the International,
Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychology and Law, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Links to Research Projects:
Issues in Jury and Juror Decision Making
Antecedents and Consequences of Wrongful Conviction
Contact Information:
University of Florida
Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law
P.O. Box 117330
Gainesville, FL 32611
Phone: 352-392-0265, extension 205
Email: llevett@ufl.edu
