Emily E. Dunlap

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.

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.

Participant gender, stalking myth acceptance, and gender role stereotyping in perceptions of intimate partner stalking: a structural equation modeling approach

The present research used a mock juror experiment (N = 360) to assess two primary goals: (1) to examine the direct and indirect effects of participant gender, stalking myth acceptance, and gender role stereotyping on guilt ratings in a stalking trial; and (2) to examine the role of perceived victim fear and distress, and defendant intended danger on perceptions of a stalking trial. Using structural equation modeling, we found an indirect effect of participant gender, and both direct and indirect effects of stalking myth acceptance and gender role stereotyping on guilt ratings. Men and participants who endorsed more traditional gender role stereotypes were associated with adherence to stalking myth acceptance beliefs. Endorsement of particular stalking myth acceptance beliefs offers a partial explanation for why women and men differed on perceptions of the defendants intent to cause danger and the victims perceived fear and distress. Results provide insight into the efficacy of current anti-stalking legislation that relies on a jurors capacity to evaluate an ‘objective’ interpretation (i.e., ‘reasonable person’) standard of fear for intimate partner stalking.

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.