jury decision making (16)

Question 1

para 1

Answer 1

AO1
-pre trial publicity:
-PTP is information in media about a crime before the trial begins that may include details of past offences (factual PTP) as well as comments and opinions (emotional PTP). This is likely to influence the jury decision, making it an unfair decision

AO3 - FOR

AO3 - AGAINST

Question 2

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Answer 2

AO1
-attractiveness (the halo effect):
-the more attractive you are the less likely you are to be convicted of a crime. This is a form of cognitive bias where we attribute positive characteristics to more attractive people. So, in a trial we may assume that attractive people are not capable of criminal acts as it doesn’t fit our perception of their physical appearance.

AO3 - FOR
-Stewart (1980) conducted an observation of American judge’s decisions regarding 74 defendants and found that judges were less willing to imprison attractive people.

AO3 - AGAINST

Question 3

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Answer 3

AO1
-ethnicity/race of the defendant:
-the jury can be influenced by stereotypes about racial groups; negativeracial stereotypes produce a “negative halo effect”. It has been found that mostly white juries are more likely to convict black defendants.

AO3 - FOR
-Pfeifer and Ogloff (1991) - used a mock jury composed of university students, rated black defendants more guilty than white ones when accused of the same crime.

AO3 - AGAINST

Question 4

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Answer 4

AO1
-gender of the defendant:
-preconceived notions of gender roles allowed male and female defendants to be treated differently

AO3 - FOR
-McCoy and Gray (2007) suggests jurors see female defendants as more believable. Female defendants are often mothers with a primary responsibility for their children, therefore they are treated more leniently at court as the wellbeing of the child(ren) becomes the priority

AO3 - AGAINST