Roane, K. (2005, April 17). The CSI Effect. Retrieved June 3, 2015, from _US_News_and_World_Report.pdf
This particular news story was one of the first on record that mentioned the “CSI Effect” over a decade ago. This is useful because it tells the reader about the public perception of the effect while it was still conjectured and not extensively written about like it has been in the present day. The story encapsulates a basic look at the CSI Effect and shows the earliest steps of the CSI Effect being witnessed in the public mindset. Another important aspect of this article is that it is often used as a baseline for prestigious law universities as a means of demonstrating the difficulties that have arisen as a direct result of having television shows pervade the public consciousness. Not only does the article show how difficult it may be to rid the jury of the notions that have been embedded by television, but correctly assumes that this was the “tip of the iceberg”.
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Shelton, D., Kim, Y., & Barak, G. (2006). The ‘CSI effect’: Does it really exist? Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law, 9, 330-330. Retrieved June 3, 2015, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=958224
This article poses the question about whether or not the CSI Effect has had any noticeable effect on criminal court cases or whether it was simply information that was taken out of context and largely assumed. This article holds that it is the first empirical study that was completed on the topic, making it a valuable resource to show the evolution of this phenomenon as it is continuously challenged in terms of its existence and threat that it poses. This was an important study because it had the goal of demonstrating whether adults were simply more aware of the need for science to be utilized, or whether they have been polluted as a result of too many crime programs. The overall result of this study had far-reaching implications about how television and education are affecting the need for more thorough investigations. Also, it lays the foundation for the fact that the courts may need to do a better job with telling jurors about what is required for a conviction.
Ley, B., Jankowski, N., & Brewer, P. (2012). Investigating CSI: Portrayals of DNA testing on a forensic crime show and their potential effects. Public Understanding of Science, 21(1), 51-67. Retrieved June 3, 2015, from http://pus.sagepub.com/content/21/1/51.short
Another article that has been written on the topic of the CSI Effect discusses the various potential effects that could take place if an individual put too much faith in the abundance of evidence that is supposedly left at each crime scene. This article is important because it counteracts the first research article, plainly stating that the CSI Effect is real and can have potent effects within a courtroom. While the article outlines the benefits in that the jurors have a higher expectation for the law, the article expresses concern about the fact that DNA evidence is being regarded as the only thing that can convict or exonerate someone who is being tried in the court system. This work is useful because it builds on the knowledge that was gathered in the initial studies of the CSI Effect and looks at more confounding factors to see what the greatest benefits and detriments of such as system are.
Smith, L., & Bull, R. (2012). Identifying and measuring juror pre-trial bias for forensic evidence: Development and validation of the Forensic Evidence Evaluation Bias Scale. Psychology, Crime & Law, 18(9), 797-815. Retrieved June 3, 2015, from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1068316X.2011.561800
One of the other most useful articles that can be examined in light of the CSI Effect is about how the court system has had to change as a result of the CSI Effect. Not only does this mean that the court system has acknowledged, to a degree, that such a problem exists, but that it is pervasive enough that an individual has to be asked certain questions about their bias for evidence. This article is also important because it examines the ways in which the court system has adjusted for the changes in the public perception of law. The article goes on to examine the question of whether the crime shows have been beneficial for raising awareness of legal issues, or ultimately harmful in that they have raised the expectations to an unfathomable height. The measures that are used attempt to ensure that there is fairness in the court system and a balance between what is obviously guilty and what is a stretch by prosecution or defense.
