Ideological bias in constitutional judgments: Experimental analysis and potential solutions

Abstract

Despite the importance and neutrality of constitutional rights, empirical research suggests that ideological inclinations unduly affect their assessment and application. In this study, we conducted two experiments in order to investigate the nature of the ideological bias in a constitutionally relevant decision (right-to-demonstration), and how to mitigate it. We find that ideological bias is driven by in-group favoritism. In addition, we find that prior commitment, through a signed declaration, to be impartial or to prioritize constitutional rights encourages participants not to disfavor out-groups. On the other hand, we do not find evidence that using a temporary blinding procedure mitigates the ideological bias.

Prohibir los bulos en las emergencias sanitarias. Predictores de la opinión sobre el control de la información en España

“…Los individuos tienden a evaluar las evidencias de forma más positiva cuando proceden de políticos situados no solo en la misma línea ideológica sino también en el mismo partido (Bolsen et al, 2014;Goren et al, 2009;Leeper y Slothuus, 2014). La valoración de la información y la formación de juicios de valor a partir de sesgos partidistas se establece también en el campo jurídico (Sood y Darley, 2012), aspecto sobre el que existe un cierto consenso en la literatura científica (Kantorowicz-Reznichenko et al, 2022). Cope y Crabtree (2020) demostraron que las actitudes hacia la implementación de derechos humanos internacionales estaban guiadas por la afiliación política.…”

Judicial Decision-Making. A Survey of the Experimental Evidence

“…They are motivated to do a good job, even if it has been randomly assigned to them (Engel and Zhurakhovska 2017). In one vignette study, laypersons instructed to decide as judges exhibit ideological bias (Kantorowicz-Reznichenko, Kantorowicz et al 2022). In another vignette study, a correlation of some, but not all, political opinions with the proposed decision of the case is observed (Braman 2006).…”