Jurors' Subjective Experiences of Deliberations in Criminal Cases

Abstract

Research on jury deliberations has largely focused on the implications of deliberations for criminal defendants' outcomes. In contrast, this article considers jurors' outcomes by integrating subjective experience into the study of deliberations. We examine whether jurors' feelings that they had enough time to express themselves vary by jurors' gender, race, or education. Drawing on status characteristics theory and a survey of more than 3,000 real-world jurors, we find that the majority of jurors feel that they had enough time to express themselves. However, blacks and Hispanics, and especially blacks and Hispanics with less education, are less likely to feel so. Jurors' verdict preferences do not account for these findings. Our findings have implications for status characteristics theory and for legal cynicism among members of lower-status social groups.

The subtle effects of implicit bias instructions

“…While the findings speak to our theoretical understanding of bias, including in small group contexts such as juries, there is also more work to be done on how individuals' attributes and experiences contribute to the group‐level process. Prior research indicates that jurors subjectively experience the deliberation process differently as a function of “status characteristics” such as gender and racial identity (Winter & Clair, 2018) and that decision‐making processes and outcomes vary considerably as a function of jury diversity (Shaw et al, 2021; Sommers, 2006). While we preliminarily examined how juror race impacted verdict outcomes in this study, further research on the racial and gender dynamics of deliberation and decision making is warranted, including whether these instructions may improve the subjective experience for jurors from marginalized groups.…”

“…Forepersons, in turn, can be influential in shaping deliberations and outcomes (D. J. Devine et al, 2007; Diamond & Casper, 1992; York & Cornwell, 2006). In addition, those in lower‐status social groups sometimes subjectively experience marginalization on juries (Hickerson & Gastil, 2008; Winter & Clair, 2018). For example, Winter and Clair (2018) found that Black and Hispanic jurors with lower levels of education felt less positive about their experiences and felt that they had fewer opportunities to express their thoughts and influence deliberations relative to White jurors of all educational backgrounds.…”

“…In addition, those in lower‐status social groups sometimes subjectively experience marginalization on juries (Hickerson & Gastil, 2008; Winter & Clair, 2018). For example, Winter and Clair (2018) found that Black and Hispanic jurors with lower levels of education felt less positive about their experiences and felt that they had fewer opportunities to express their thoughts and influence deliberations relative to White jurors of all educational backgrounds. Nevertheless, diverse jury groups are found to engage in higher‐quality, less biased deliberations (Peter‐Hagene, 2019; Sommers, 2006).…”

The collateral consequences of criminal legal association during jury selection

“…Indeed, racially diverse, as opposed to all‐White, juries tend to discuss a wider range of information (Sommers, 2006), and juries picked from racially diverse jury pools tend to acquit White and Black defendants at the same rate, whereas those picked from all‐White jury pools tend to acquit White defendants at higher rates (Anwar et al, 2012). Future research could examine how these findings intersect with jurors' criminal legal system associations as offenders or victims—and with what implications for jury verdicts as well as jurors' subjective perceptions of the deliberation process (Winter & Clair, 2018). One study suggests that juries with members with and without felony convictions perform similarly to juries comprised only of people without felony convictions in terms of their deliberation structure and content (Binnall 2019).…”

Understanding the effects of jury service on jurors' trust in courts

“…How jurors subjectively view the deliberation process may or may not differ by racial group membership and other characteristics. Winter and Clair (2018) finds that non‐white jurors with lower levels of education are less likely to feel they had sufficient time to express themselves in the jury process than more educated white jurors. However, Cornwall and Hans (2011) finds that black jurors report significant higher rates of participation during deliberations than white or Hispanic jurors, even as socioeconomic factors such as education and income continue to predict level of jury participation in deliberations.…”