The Effect of Prejudice and Judicial Ambiguity on Defendant Guilt Ratings

Rector, Neil A.; Bagby, R. Michael; Nicholson, Robert A.

doi:10.1080/00224545.1993.9713920

Cited by 32 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The impact of racial stereotypes cannot be overlooked, as jurors may rely on heuristics or stereotypes, as opposed to systematic and rationale cognitive processing, when making complex judgments regarding probative evidence (Bornstein & Greene, 2011). Indeed, in the absence of physical evidence, or when tasked with complex decision-making tasks, racial stereotypes regarding the defendants' or victims' characteristics may significantly influence their decisions (Bottoms et al, 2004;Lynch & Haney, 2000;Rector, Bagby, & Nicholson, 1993).…”

Section: Medical Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Simulated judicial decision‐making for African and European American adolescents with illegal sexual behavior: The impact of medical data and victim race/ethnicity

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Falligant

Alexander

2019

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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The perceived importance of victim and defendant race/ethnicity and medical evidence in child sexual abuse cases has been recognized separately in the literature. However, few studies have considered these factors simultaneously. Within a sample of 880 college students, an interaction effect was tested between the presence of medical evidence and the race/ethnicity of a juvenile defendant and victim using child sexual abuse case vignettes. The main effects of medical evidence and the race of the defendant were observed. Medical evidence and race of victim influenced victim believability such that medical evidence was more impactful for cases with African American victims. Further, there were interactions between the race of the defendant and the race of the victim in adult versus juvenile court decisions, sex offender registration and notification requirements, and length of sex offender registration and notification. Interracial sexual offending was associated with substantially higher punishment than intraracial sexual offending. Accordingly, several important implications for court‐level decision‐making processes are explored.

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Section: Medical Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Simulated judicial decision‐making for African and European American adolescents with illegal sexual behavior: The impact of medical data and victim race/ethnicity

Fix

Falligant

Alexander

2019

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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“…Although not as significant as physical attractiveness, race also has been shown to affect perceptions of the accused (Rector & Bagby, 1993;Foley, Adams & Goodson, 1996;Reynolds, 1996). One of the most researched areas is the effect of race on juror decisions.…”

Section: Physical Attractwenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guilty and Threatening: Visual Bias in Television News Crime Stories

Barnett

2003

Journalism & Communication Monographs

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This experiment investigates the effects of television crime news portrayals of the accused on evaluations of that person. Forty subjects watched television crime news stories, which contained either visual (dressed in an orange suit, wearing handcuffs and being restrained by a police officer) or aural (mention of a prior record) bias. Results show that subjects who saw the visual bias evaluated the accused as more threatening, dangerous and guilty than those who did not see the bias. Those who heard about a prior record evaluated the accused as more threatening and guilty, but not as more dangerous than those who did not hear about the record. These impressions of guilt remained after a two-week delay. Findings illustrate how common TV news portrayals of a person accused of a crime can prejudice the general public. Also, accidental viewing of a criminal defendant in prison clothes or being restrained can affect snap judgments about that person during the trial. Implications for journalists and the legal system are discussed.

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“…Pfeifer & Ogloff (1991) have argued convincingly that the failure to include judicial instructions to the jury has limited the degree to which the simulation model reflects actual legal decision making. Both Pfeiffer & Ogloff (1991) and Rector and colleagues (Rector et al, 1993) have shown that, in the American context, White prejudicial bias towards African Americans is reduced when the legal instructions are included. Hence, the application of the legal standard in simulated jury research has been shown to influence the perception of the defendant and victim, and subsequent verdict and sentence ratings in such a way that when the context is less ambiguous, ratings are more equivocal.…”

Section: And R Michael Bagbymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies have shown repeatedly that, in rape and murder cases White mock jurors find the defendant guilty more frequently when he is Black than when the defendant is White, and this racial bias is especially prominent when the victim is White (Bullock, 1961;Klein & Creech, 1982;Radelet & Pierce, 1985;Ugweuegbu, 1979). Racial discrimination in guilt determinations continues to be observed in the US (Rector, Bagby & Nicholson, 1993) and a recent meta-analytic review of the extant literature shows that African American males continue to receive discriminatory sentences (Sweeney & Haney, 1992).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The latter represent the judge's summation of the facts to be cognizant of in the case and the legal standards to be followed to reach a verdict. Studies in both the US (Pfeifer & Ogloff, 1991;Rector et al, 1993) and Canada (Rector & Bagby, 1995) have shown the presence of judicial instructions to moderate the impact of extra-evidentiary factors, such as defendant and victim race and attractiveness, on jurors' verdict and sentencing decisions. However, no study to date has articulated the nature of minority legal decision-making strategies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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