Warning that the American jury system is under attack, Vidmar (law, Duke U.) and Hans (law, Cornell U.) review the empirical research on juries over the past fifty years in order to provide readers both with an understanding of the role of the jury system in American democracy and with a means to evaluate the (often anecdotal) arguments loosed by critics of the jury system. They offer a historical overview of the evolution of the jury system and provide chapters examining such issues as juror bias and jury selection, the problem of pretrial publicity, jurors' comprehension of evidence and law, juries and scientific experts, deciding insanity, jury nullification, juries and capital punishment, civil liability, compensatory and punitive damages awards, and medical malpractice decisions. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)