Jacqui Horan

Jacqui Horan is a courtroom communication researcher. She holds the position of Associate Professor of Law at Monash University and is a member of the Victorian Bar (academic). She is a jury expert. She has written books and published numerous articles in nationals and international journals focussing on ways to improve jury trials. Jacqui lead a project where she achieved rare access to over 100 Australian jurors investigating juror’s perceptions of expert evidence. The results of this project are published in Freckelton, Goodman-Delahunty, Horan and McKimmie, ‘Expert Evidence and Criminal Jury Trials’ (2016, OUP (UK)).

Jacqui is regularly invited to present to the judiciary and the legal profession. She is a regular commentator in the media on jury trials including featuring as the jury expert in the 2024 SBS verbatim drama ‘The Jury: Death on the Staircase.’ She has contributed to the development of jury processes in the Courts as an academic member of the Victorian Courts ‘Jury Advisory Group’ and ‘Jury Directions Advisory Group.’

Most recently, Jacqui’s work has focused on improving sexual assault trials, including her co-edited book, Byrne and Horan, ‘Sexual Assault Trials: Challenges and Innovations’ (2025). She acted as an expert advisor to the ALRC ‘Justice Responses to Sexual Violence’ reference. In 2024, she visited the Solomon Islands where she joined a team of experts from the Victorian Bar and Judiciary who conducted a training program for police and prosecutors aimed at improving the prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.