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The two studies described in this chapter are:

  • Study 1 – a videotrial simulation
  • Study 2 – a live simulated trial.

In both trials, ‘the Sydney Bomber Case’ involved a fictional alleged terrorist incident in which a young white man was accused of placing a bomb on a train that exploded after he alighted, killing innocent commuters in the centre of Sydney.

Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this research provides an in-depth understanding of jury behaviour in a contemporary terrorism trial. Two related studies aimed to test the effect on jury reasoning and conviction rates of:

  • Interactive virtual environments
  • Jury instructions on the appropriate use of expert evidence and
  • Individual versus group decision-making.

This chapter provides, for both Study 1 and Study 2:

  • A description of the research design
  • A description of research materials used, such as visual evidence
  • Information about research participants
  • Research procedures
  • Analysis of experimental data.

For Study 2, the chapter also touches on jury instructions about visual evidence, information about jury deliberations and the methodology used for analysis.


This chapter is useful for:

  • Students, teachers, researchers – in Law, Psychology and Communications
  • Practitioners of law and criminal justice
  • Forensic scientists and psychologists
  • Police, national security officers and court officials
  • Policymakers
  • Journalists.
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The book

This chapter is in the book Juries, Science and Popular Culture in the Age of Terror


Other related chapters

Other chapters that provide research insights arising from the ‘the Sydney Bomber Case’ are:

Chapter 4: Animating the Bomber: The Sydney Bomber Trial

Chapter 7: Displaying the Bomb on the Train: The Challenge of Preparing Visual Evidence

Chapter 9: The Sydney Bomber Study: Introducing the Mock Jurors

Chapter 10: Images of Interactive Virtual Environments: Do They Affect Verdict?

Chapter 11: How Juries Talked About Visual Evidence

Chapter 12: CSI Effects on Jury Reasoning and Verdicts

Chapter 13: The Effect of Deliberation on Jury Verdicts

Chapter 14: Making Sense of The Evidence: Jury Deliberation and Common Sense