Beyond the Evidence: How Race, Chronological Age, and Developmental Age Shape Juror Verdicts in Sexual Assault Cases.

Abstract

There is an overrepresentation of Indigenous people (both as accused and victims of crime) and those with developmental delays in the Canadian Criminal Justice System. The current research examined the influence of defendant and victim race (involving Indigenous people), as well as defendant developmental and chronological age, on mock-jurors' perceptions and decisions in sexual assault cases. Experiment 1 examined the influence of defendant and victim race (Indigenous or White), and defendant chronological age (16- or 36-year). Experiment 2 examined defendant race (Indigenous or White), defendant developmental age (14- or 24-year), and defendant chronological age (14- or 24-year). In both experiments, mock-jurors rendered more guilty verdicts when the defendant was White, compared to Indigenous. Mock-jurors also were more lenient to the chronologically younger defendant in Experiment 1 and the developmentally younger defendant in Experiment 2. Finally, mock-jurors' acceptance of rape myths was assessed; higher endorsement was associated with lower guilt ratings.