Effects of the Attractiveness and Socio Economic Status of a Defendant Influencing Jury's Decisions

Stereotypes are socially constructed, over-generalized views regarding a particular group of persons with certain characteristics that are widely accepted, and usually expected, in a society. The dominant group of a certain society, which in this case is probably Caucasians and men, usually creates these social constructions. Claude M. Steele, a researcher from Stanford University, performed multiple research studies on the idea and psychological effects of stereotypes on its victims. In his studies, he coins the term “stereotype threat” as the “social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group,” which implies that “the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes” (Steele 797).

Racial disparity in the sentencing process of the criminal justice system also exists because of racial jurors. To eliminate the suspensions of racial disparity of racial jurors the jury will select at least one African-American to serve for the jury. A percentage of African-Americans oppose capital punishment (Tabak, 1999, p. 6). Prosecutors commonly discriminate against African-Americans during challenges of discretions and blatantly abuse the powers of prosecutors. Juries predominantly use more Whites in every trial is inappropriate on the levels of the criminal justice system. Americans have rights to a trial by jury of peers and has the right not to exclude minorities in the selection of a jury. Excluding minorities in a jury of an individual’s peers is a violation of an objective and fair trial for a defendant.

When thinking of a jury, there is a belief that everyone is fair when it comes to making the decision of whether the person being accused of the crime is guilty or not guilty because of the person’s race. What if this belief is not necessarily correct? There have been many instances in whether race has been a factor when the jury makes a decision. According to Baskin, Goldstein, and Sommers (2014), there has been enough evidence to show that racial biases influences the decisions of a jury. In this paper, the articles will show how jury decision-making is influenced by the offender’s race.

During my time enrolled in Psy 3325: Stereotypes, Prejudice Discrimination, taught by Dr. Tay Hack, we explored several topics concerning social differences. Using the textbook ‘ Understanding the Psychology of Diversity’ second Edition, I gained a deeper understanding of how the mind groups individuals together both consciously and unconsciously thus influencing the way we treat a person. In this course we covered racism, classism, homosexism, weightism, ageism, and the stigmas that come with these titles.

In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs. Generally speaking, the greatest problem that arises with stereotypes is that they judge group of people by the characteristics and actions of their ancestors, rather than on an individual basis. More often than not, these assumptions will

Diversity brings strength and resilience in the face of ever-changing conditions. In today's world, it is more important than ever. The impression is not only to have noticeable diversity in people, but as well to derive as close to a cross-section of all social and economic levels as can be had, whose social views do not show too heavy extremes which could favor either the Defense or the Prosecution. If a prospective juror harbors an opinion which favors one side over the other, attorneys look for this, in not only words said, but in body language, so as not to lose their case. The attorneys have as much, if not more, interest in winning for their own professional sake as for freeing or convicting the defendant. However, there cannot be found

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Unfortunately, that day is not today. People are still being judged by the colour of their skin. Victims of stereotyping and discrimination are everywhere, as shown by Lisa Bird-Wilson and Steven Keewatin Sanderson. Stereotypes can be emotionally damaging, especially to Natives. Not only this, but they can also be physically harmful throughout the duration of one’s entire life. “Deedee” by Lisa Bird-Wilson and “Rising Above” by Steven Keewatin Sanderson both illustrate that Native stereotypes can be emotionally and physically harmful

In a research paper titled “The Interaction of Race, Gender, and Age in Criminal Sentencing: The Punishment Cost of Being Young, Black, and Male” three university researchers ask a series of question to determine if race, gender, and age have an effect on judicial sentencing, and how “these factors might contextualize on another”. The authors look at previous research to help in aiding what questions would be appropriate to ask for this study. They cite a number of different sources to help them achieve their goal of finding an answer to their questions.

Stereotypes are known to harm both and the society at large. Victims suffer the emotional distress; anger, frustration, insecurity, and feelings

Society expects the criminal justice system to provide justice for everyone by protecting the innocent, to punish and convict the guilty, and to rehabilitate them in an attempt to stop them reoffending. It is supposed to give fair justice for everyone, regardless of gender, but much is written that suggests that the criminal justice system is gender-biased. Gender bias was not formed by the justice system, but it does reflect the fundamental conditions and attitudes of society. The cost of gender bias to

The article conducted research to determine if the number of guilty verdicts would increase as a function of number of women on the jury, at least once women were majority. In order to test this hypothesis they gathered some college student’s volunteers and created a mock jury. There were a total of 76 mock juries, 426 women and 398 men. The students were White (85%), with 4% Asian, 3.2% Black, 3.2% Hispanic, and 4% “Other. Even though all of the juries were college students 96% were single and 37% have are either in or have been in a sexual relationship before. After conducting the mock juries it was found that the more women on the jury resulted into more guilty verdicts 86% of the women and 66% of the men. However, guilty verdicts didn’t increase significantly until the jury was overwhelmed by the female gender (i.e., 10 women to 2 men) or if the jury was all female.

Most people find stereotypes to be obnoxious, especially when they have to do with sensitive subjects like gender or race. “Stereotyping is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others and their communication behaviors” (Floyd, 61). Because they underestimate the differences among individuals in a group, stereotyping can lead to inaccurate and offensive perceptions of other people. Although stereotypes are prevalent in almost every society, becoming aware of our perceptions of others, as well as differentiating between both positive and negative stereotypes can help us overcome those stereotypes.

This paper analyzes the connection between spectator appraisals of appeal and skin tone, weight, and stature, and gives proof on whether these physical attributes influence the probability that people report unfair treatment in an assortment of settings. African Americans with lighter shading, and white men with darker shading, are evaluated as more appealing, as are taller men and both men and ladies of ordinary weight. Despite the fact that an unlimited writing demonstrates that physical appearance impacts how one is dealt with, there is little proof that apparent oppressive treatment is identified with physical qualities, for example, allure, weight, or tallness. A special case is for African Americans with lighter skin shading who report

In the courtroom, these stressors come out in full force. Although the Courts have “concluded that statistics alone do not prove that race enter[s] into any capital sentencing decision in any one particular case…” it is obvious that ethnicity becomes a factor (Ross 153). Countering the court’s argument, statistics have shown that in America, “blacks who killed whites were five and six times… more likely to be sentenced to death than whites who killed whites” (151). The reason for this is mainly due to jurors unintentionally letting race influence their decision making process. The in-group bias and ethnic boundaries described above cloud the jury’s judgment, seeking a stronger penalty for minority groups. Also, if the victim who was killed was someone with good

Society has always retained deeply rooted stereotypes in all aspects of life. Whether it is prejudice due to color, creed, or gender, we cannot ignore the differential treatment of specific groups that occurs daily in our world. Although much has been done to alter our views on such matters, can we really suggest that society