Emily C. Hodell

The impact of mock jury gender composition on deliberations and conviction rates in a child sexual assault trial.

This study investigated how the gender composition of mock juries affects deliberations and conviction rates in a child sexual assault (CSA) trial. As opposed to studies in which mock jurors make decisions as individuals, mock jury research allows for investigation of how individual decisions translate into group verdicts. Gender composition within mock juries was varied to examine whether well-established gender differences in individual judgments affect the jury-level decision-making process. Three hundred men and women, in 6-member mock juries, heard a fictional CSA trial. During deliberations, proprosecution/ prodefense statements by women were approximately equal, whereas men made more prodefense statements. Women switched votes during deliberations more than did men; jurors in woman majority mock juries changed from not guilty to guilty more often than did jurors in nonwoman majority juries, and vice versa; and woman majority mock juries convicted most often. Findings indicate that predeliberation gender differences led to unique jury deliberation strategies and voting patterns.

Mock Juror Gender Biases and Perceptions of Self-Defense Claims in Intimate Partner Homicide

Findings are reported from an experiment that examined mock jurors’ gender biases regarding intimate homicide case adjudications. Mock jurors were more likely to convict a man than a woman who had killed an abusive partner, which was partially mediated by sympathy toward both the victim and defendant. Analyses revealed an abuser height and abuser gender interaction such that conviction rates for women defendants were higher when her abuser was taller compared to when he was shorter than she; abuser height did not influence conviction rates for men. Findings also suggested that when given information about a child being present, mock jurors perceived the killing of the abusive partner as an act to protect that child. The results are discussed in relation to how extra-legal factors impact juror perceptions of domestic violence cases in the courtroom.

The Impact of Juror Characteristics and Victim Health Status on the Perception of Elder Physical Abuse

An experiment investigated mock juror perceptions of elder abuse using a community sample from Lexington, Kentucky. Two-hundred six men and women ranging in age from 18 to 88 read a fictional criminal trial summary of a case of elder physical abuse (EPA) in which the accuser was described as healthy, frail, or confused. In addition, the influence of participant age, participant gender, and attitude toward the elderly on juror perceptions of EPA was also investigated. Results showed that women had higher conviction rates than did men. Accuser health status, participant age, participant gender, and attitude toward the elderly affected other rating variables including accuser believability, accuser inaccuracy, defendant believability, and verdict confidence. Results suggest implications for how EPA cases are perceived in court.

Perceptions of elder physical abuse in the courtroom: the influence of hearsay witness testimony

ABSTRACT A community sample of 226 participants (41% men, 59% women) who answered questions about a trial summary that manipulated what type of witness (a 45-year-old hearsay [second-hand information based on the report of a crime victim] witness, a 75-year-old hearsay witness, or the 75-year-old victim) presented an allegation of elder physical abuse. Overall, participants who read the testimony of a 45-year-old hearsay witness had higher conviction rates than participants who read the testimony of the 75-year-old hearsay witness or the elder victim. Additionally, participants who had previously been victims of abuse and/or who had positive attitudes toward elderly people rendered more pro-prosecution verdicts. Finally, as the age of the participant increased so did conviction rates.

The Perception of Elder Sexual Abuse in the Courtroom

This study explored mock juror perceptions of elder sexual mistreatment (ESM). In Experiment 1, 118 participants read a fictional criminal trial summary of an ESM case in which a 76-year-old woman was allegedly abused by either her son or a neighbor. In Experiment 2 (n = 360), the ESM occurred in either a nursing home or the elders home and the alleged perpetrator was either her son or a nursing home worker. Conviction rates were relatively low in both experiments (25% and 33%, respectively). Women were more pro-prosecution than men in case judgments. Overall, the study provides evidence that mock jurors may question the credibility of elders in ESM cases.

The Use of Hearsay Testimony on Behalf of an Elder Victim of Abuse: A Reasonable and Necessary Alternative Under Certain Circumstances

Abstract This commentary supports the use of hearsay testimony (secondhand testimony) exceptions in cases of elder abuse (EA). Given that EA victims are often unavailable for in-court testimony due to (1) a refusal to testify for personal reasons, (2) ethical concerns regarding the impact of in-court testimony on the well-being of the victim, or (3) age-related physical or cognitive impairments, hearsay testimony provides a viable means of protecting and relaying the victims story to jurors. The benefits of hearsay testimony are discussed in terms of the necessity and reliability of utilizing hearsay as evidence as well as the implications of admitting hearsay testimony in EA cases.