The Effects of Expert Testimony and Gender on Juror Decisions during Rape Trials

• In Event: Juror Perceptions, Decisions, and Education

Abstract

Expert testimony is a costly addition to a trial. The present study explored how the presence of expert testimony and the expert’s gender impacted jurors’ perceptions of the victim, the defendant, and the defendant’s culpability through an online survey with 119 jury-eligible participants recruited from a university research registry and Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants read case materials from a real rape case and answered questions about their perceptions of the witnesses, culpability, what aspects of the case most strongly influenced their verdict, and completed the Rape Myth Acceptance measure, which measures how much misinformation the respondent believes about rape cases. The presence of expert testimony did not produce significant effects on perceptions of the witnesses, or culpability. However, results trended such that the testimony of a female expert was more impactful than a male’s. In contrast, participant mention of knowledge of facts about rape, inconsistent or unreliable testimony, and perception of the defendant significantly impacted verdict. Participants who indicated physical evidence influenced their decision rated the defendant as significantly more guilty. These findings suggest that an expert’s gender is relevant to jurors' perceptions, however, it may be more cost-effective to eschew expert testimony in rape cases with strong physical evidence.

Authors

• Audrey Rene Higgins, University of Virginia

• Laura Duval, American University

• Erica Hart, American University