Voter Fraud Commission, Statistics in Court, Star Wars at School
Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Season 1, Episode 598
- Jul 19, 2017 6:00 am
- 1:42:02 mins
Understanding Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission Guest: Douglas Spencer, JD, PhD, Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of Connecticut Voter fraud is one of President Donald Trump’s key concerns. He claims that millions of people voted illegally in the election and robbed him of winning the popular vote. To root out those claims, Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which met in Washington for the first time today. But Trump’s Commission on Election Integrity has already been hamstrung by half a dozen lawsuits. Also, dozens of states have refused to provide all of the voter information the commission has requested. How big of a problem is voter fraud in America? Why Courts Should Use Statistics Guest: Daniel J. Denis, PhD, Associate Professor of Quantitative Psychology, University of Montana A number of years ago, Julie Rose had a very frustrating experience as a jury member on a federal criminal case. After they’d heard all the evidence, jurors were told that deciding the defendant was guilty meant we needed to be confident – “beyond a reasonable doubt” – that he’d committed the crime. The frustrating part was that none of the jury members seemed to agree on just what “beyond a reasonable doubt” meant. Some of them felt the evidence was so strong there was maybe an 85 to 90 percent chance of guilt. But a few jurors insisted that even one inkling of doubt, one weak spot in the prosecutor’s case meant “reasonable doubt.” In the end, those few jurors prevented the jury from getting the unanimous vote they needed for a guilty verdict and the guy got off. Here’s the core problem: we’re asking jurors to make a decision based on statistical probabilities without giving them even a basic understanding of how statistics work. Job Stress, Junk Food, and Sleep Guest: Chu-Hsiang “Daisy” Chang, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Michigan State University Has a stressful day at work ever lead you to eat one extra donut or opt for that bag of potato chips over veggies w
