Priming Effects in Immigration Court Observation

• In Event: US Law & Courts: Courts & Judging Mini-Conference: Lower & Administrative Courts

Abstract

We report the results of an experimental study that leverages a virtual immigration court observation experience to estimate how common interest group strategies for training “court watchers” (volunteers who agree to observe court proceedings) influence a watcher’s ability to identify information about procedural fairness as well as a watcher’s perceptions of fairness. Mis- and disinformation about migrants and refugees have long shaped political communication in this arena, with significant consequences for political attitudes, behavior, and policymaking. One strategy of interest groups to combat this mis- and disinformation involves bringing citizens into immigration courts to observe immigration proceedings. Our experiment evaluates how the training that groups commonly provide to prospective watchers shapes what they observe and what they learn when in court. We consider whether typical training methods undermine the goals of the groups providing the training by setting expectations that are not often met. To ensure that the virtual court-watching experience is as close as possible to the real experience, we dramatize immigration court proceedings through a series of short films based on actual immigration court events. This study is part of a novel interdisciplinary collaboration between Emory Film and Media Studies, Emory Political Science, and the Emory School of Law, which is designed to advance collaborative research in the context of law and politics.

Authors

• Jeffrey Staton, Emory University

• Devon Thurman, Emory University

• Dehanza Shreen Rogers, Emory University