Quality-checking the new normal: trial modality in online jury decision-making research.

Objectives: We sought to examine differences between videotaped and written trial materials on verdicts, perceptions of trial parties, quality check outcomes, perceived salience of racial issues, and emotional states in a trial involving a Black or White defendant.

Hypotheses: We predicted that verdicts and ratings of trial parties would be similar for those participants viewing a videotaped trial and those reading a written transcript. However, we suspected that emotional states might be heightened for those watching a video and that those reading transcripts would perform better on quality checks regarding trial content (but worse on those involving trial party characteristics, including defendant race).

The influence of race on jurors' perceptions of lethal police use of force.

Objective: Many highly publicized police use-of-force encounters have recently occurred in the United States. This project primarily explored whether officer, juror, or victim race affects verdicts in trials involving police use of force.

Hypotheses: Because of recent conflicting research surrounding race and juror decision-making, we conducted an exploratory analysis on the interactive effects of juror, victim, and defendant race.

Moral foundations and juror verdict justifications.

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which mock jurors justified their verdict decisions using moral foundations language. Participants read a trial transcript describing a second-degree murder charge featuring an automatism plea (which negates the physical volition of a crime). They then provided a two-to-three sentence rationale for their verdict choice, which we coded for the contextually-valid presence of words from the Moral Foundations (MF) Dictionary.

The Interactive Effects of Race and Expert Testimony on Jurors' Perceptions of Recanted Confessions.

We examined the effect of defendant race and expert testimony on jurors' perceptions of recanted confessions. Participants (591 jury-eligible community members) read a first-degree murder trial transcript in which defendant race (Black/White) and expert testimony (present/absent) were manipulated. They provided verdicts and answered questions regarding the confession and expert testimony.

What's in the Box? Punishment and Insanity in the Canadian Jury Deliberation Room.

In insanity cases, although the defendant's eventual punishment is legally irrelevant to the jury's decision, it may be psychologically relevant. In this three-part mixed-methods study, Canadian jury eligible participants ( = 83) read a fictional murder case involving an insanity claim, then took part in 45-min deliberations. Findings showed that mock jurors who were generally favourable towards punishment had a lower frequency of utterances that supported the Defence's case.

Mosaic or Melting Pot? Race and Juror Decision Making in Canada and the United States.

Although Canada and the United States both demonstrate significant overrepresentation of racialized groups in prisons, the overrepresented groups vary by country, potentially signifying results of the countries' different (though similarly problematic) histories of racial inequality. The present study investigated this issue within a jury context by assessing the influence of defendant race on Canadian and American participants' verdicts in an assault trial. We also examined mock jurors' attributions of the defendant's behavior and their perceptions of the cultural criminal stereotype for each racial group.

The influence of defendant race and mental disorder type on mock juror decision-making in insanity trials.

This study examined the joint influence of defendant race (Black/White) and mental disorder type (schizophrenia/depression) on mock juror decisions in a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) case. We reasoned that unwillingness to vote for insanity would be more pronounced for a Black defendant with schizophrenia, given overlapping dangerousness and criminality stereotypes associated with those groups. Online community participants (N = 216) read a fictional second-degree murder case in which we varied mental disorder type and defendant race, then provided a verdict (guilty/NGRI) and answered questions regarding the trial.

Creating the Punishment Orientation Questionnaire: An Item Response Theory Approach.

The purpose of these studies was to examine the principles people engage in when thinking about punishment, using a new measure (the Punishment Orientation Questionnaire [POQ]). Although traditional conceptualizations of punishment divide it into utilitarianism (e.g.

Putting negative attitudes on the agenda? Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act publicity and juror decision-making.

The current study examined the effect of publicity about Canada's recent Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) Reform Act - legislation surrounding accused in insanity cases that purportedly aims to enhance public safety - on juror decision-making. In line with agenda-setting theory, we expected that NCR Reform Act publicity might reinforce certain fears about the insanity defence, dependent on whether it had either a positive or negative evaluative slant. Contrary to previous work on the insanity defence, participants in this study generally favoured a NCR verdict.

Juror decision making in not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder trials: Effects of defendant gender and mental illness type.

This study sought to examine the potential impact of defendant gender and mental illness type on Canadian juror decision making by manipulating the gender (man, woman) and mental illness (substance abuse disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar, depression) of the defendant in a second-degree murder case involving an insanity plea. Participants read a trial transcript that included definitions of second-degree murder and the not criminally on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) defense. Participants then provided a verdict (guilty or NCRMD) and completed various scales measuring attributional judgments, perceptions of the defendant, and perceived dangerousness.

Racial Composition of Couples in Battered Spouse Syndrome Cases: A Look at Juror Perceptions and Decisions.

This study manipulated the race of the defendant (wife) and the victim (husband)-White/White, White/Black, Black/Black, and Black/White-in a murder case involving a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) to examine the potential prejudicial impact of race on juror decision-making. A total of 244 jury-eligible American community members read a trial transcript of a murder case in which the defendant claimed self-defense using evidence of battered spouse syndrome. Participants provided a verdict, responsibility attributions, and their perceptions of the scenario.

Culture in the Courtroom: Ethnocentrism and Juror Decision-Making.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a culturally-based argument in a non-insane automatism defense would be detrimental or beneficial to the defendant. We also examined how juror ethnocentrism might affect perceptions of such a defense. Participants read a fictional filicide homicide case in which the defendant claimed to have blacked out during the crime; we manipulated whether culture was used as an explanation for what precipitated the defendant's blackout.

Defendant mental illness and juror decision-making: A comparison of sample types.

Two studies were conducted with separate student and community samples to explore the effect of sample types and the influence of defendant mental illness on juror decision-making. Following the completion of a pre-trial questionnaire in which jurors' attitudes towards mental illness were assessed, participants were provided with a robbery trial transcript, wherein the mental illness of the defendant was manipulated. Participants then answered a questionnaire to assess their knowledge of the scenario, their verdict, verdict confidence, and sentencing decision.

A Case of Culture: Defendant Gender and Juror Decision-Making.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of cultural evidence toward an automatism defense, and whether such evidence would be detrimental or beneficial to a male versus a female defendant. U.S.

Secondary confessions: the influence (or lack thereof) of incentive size and scientific expert testimony on jurors' perceptions of informant testimony.

The goal of this research was to determine whether the size of the incentive (none, small, medium, or large, in terms of sentence reduction) a jailhouse informant receives for testifying, as well as scientific expert testimony regarding the fundamental attribution error, would influence mock juror decision-making in a criminal trial involving a secondary confession. Participants read a murder trial transcript involving informant testimony in which incentive size and expert testimony were manipulated and then provided verdict judgments, made attributions for the informant's decision to testify, and rated the informant and expert on a number of dimensions. Neither expert testimony nor size of incentive had a direct influence on verdicts.

Canadian mock juror attitudes and decisions in domestic violence cases involving asian and white interracial and intraracial couples.

This study manipulated the race of the defendant and the victim (White/White, White/Asian, Asian/Asian, and Asian/White) in a domestic violence case to examine the potential prejudicial impact of race on juror decision making. A total of 181 undergraduate students read a trial transcript involving an allegation of spousal abuse in which defendant and victim race were manipulated using photographs. They then provided a verdict and confidence rating, a sentence, and responsibility attributions, and completed various scales measuring attitudes toward wife abuse and women.

Talking about a black man: the influence of defendant and character witness race on jurors' use of character evidence.

To determine whether anti-Black bias influences mock jurors' use of character evidence (i.e., information about a defendant's personality), this study manipulated the race (Black, White) of the defendant and character witness and the type of character evidence presented in a fictitious criminal trial.

Likelihood of using drug courts: predictions using procedural justice and the theory of planned behavior.

The current research compares two theoretical models borrowed from social psychology (theory of planned behavior and procedural justice) to predict intentions to make use of a drug court. Medicaid-eligible substance users answered a number of questions regarding their intentions to use a drug court in the future, including items from planned behavior and procedural justice scales. When procedural justice was considered alone, only trustworthiness predicted intention to use drug courts.