Profiling jury bias in rape trials: Examining the link between juror characteristics and trial decisions

<p dir="ltr">Since the onset of the Chicago jury project in the 1950’s, social scientists have utilised varied methodologies to better understand the fairness and functionality of jury trials. One common approach involves investigating the relationship between a juror’s psychosocial make-up (traits, attitudes, and experiences) and their judgements at trial. An established literature has since amassed, which indicates that juror attitudes, more so than isolated personality features or demographics, appear most important in influencing verdict decision-making. This attitudinal bias is particularly prominent within rape trials, where deep-rooted culturally embedded stereotypes (known as rape myths) exist. This chapter reports on the findings from two experimental studies conducted in an English trial context that scrutinised the influence of rape attitudes and juror’s sexual victimisation experiences and gender upon their subsequent verdict decisions. Both studies used the same rape allegation and case materials within a mock trial paradigm. However, the methodologies differed in their realism; study one adopted a videotaped mock trial, while study two utilised a highly realistic live trial re-enactment design. The findings from both studies are discussed considering the impact that pre-trial rape attitudes, victimisation experiences, and gender can have upon rape trial verdict outcomes and crucially, what solutions may be effective.</p>