Contemporary study: Bradbury and Williams Flashcards
Aim
To investigate the influence of race in jury decision making
Sample
Collected secondary data from previous study on real life trials so data would be less artificial
- all defendants were black
IV
Racial makeup of jury between Hispanic, White and Black. Measured by %
DV
Whether or not trial led to conviction
What method was used to analyse data
Logistic regression
Some of the control variables Bradbury and Williams put in place
Length of the trial
Case type (drug, violence, property)
Quantity of evidence (like number of wittnesses)
Findings
Higher % white jurors were more likely to convict black defendants
Higher % hispanic jurors were more likely to convict black defendants
Higher % black jurors were more likely to find black defendant not guilty
Conclusion
Racial composition of jurors have a significant impact on likelyhood of conviction
Evaluation: strength ‘external validity’
Data from real trials was analysed, so jurors were acting in a real environment so demand characteristics were avoided. External validity of the findings increases
Evaluation: Weakness ‘other characteristics of defendant’
Other charcateristics of the defendant were not controlled for. For example we know from research that attractiveness can also influence jury decision making. This reduces validity as it’s unlikely jurors based their judgement on race alone
Evaluation: Weakness ‘generalisability’
Generalisability may be low as all trials based in US states. Procedings in the US justice system will be different to other countries.
Evaluation: Weakness ‘socially sensitive’
It’s vital that people have faith in the legal system that they are recieving a fair trial where the outcome is solely based on evidence presented. This study highlights that other factors can influence a prejudiced outcome.
