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Old 9th Mar 2019, 08:40
  #154 (permalink)  
robdean
 
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Originally Posted by zkdli
We are all talking about cognitive impairment. So are we referring to cognitive impairment due to spatial disorientation? If so this is a subject of a few experiments and papers from the beginning of this century but it appears that it was able to be overcome by regular exposure to the causes I. e. repeated exposure to the manoeuvres of a display sequence etc.
​​​​​​Or is this a different type of cognitive impairment, due to fatigue or some other cause?
Was this established in the trial?
The trial neither was tasked with any such finding nor in a position to adjudicate in such a manner.
Relevant to guilt/innocence is simply the question: 'Can it be concluded beyond reasonable doubt that no form of cognitive impairment could have been a significant causal factor'. In other words, if the jury think the pilot was most likely being an irresponsible dick, but it remains reasonably possible, albeit far less likely in their view, that the cause was cognitive impairment, then they must, by law, return 'Not Guilty'.

Of course, though, the jury is sacrosanct: it can be challenged if there is evidence rules were broken in the jury room (maybe googling the accused or citing PPRuNe posts to other jurors), but otherwise the jury cannot be held to account for their verdict. Thus it is always possible for a jury to vote according to prejudice, or to return a verdict which perhaps they feel is 'just' even if apparently at odds with the legal checklist they were instructed they had to be able to complete before returning such a verdict.
Let’s say three witnesses saw an accused shoot a notorious paedophile and the accused was arrested holding the smoking gun shouting 'He got what was coming to him!': If the jury return with 'Not Guilty' then under most circumstances that’s game over, legally, save for appeals which themselves must pass a legal checklist to be approved (you can’t just ask for a do-over because you think the jury were taking the mickey). And of course a jury could go 'Guilty' in such an off-piste manner too... & even if the case can be appealed, the original jury cannot be asked to justify their original verdict or held to account for it.

Last edited by robdean; 9th Mar 2019 at 09:06.
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