Strength Versus Sensitivity: The Impact of Attorney Gender on Juror Perceptions and Trial Outcomes in a Rape Case

We examined the impact of attorney gender on perceptions of a criminal rape trial. Community members (N = 208) read a trial summary describing a rape scenario in which the gender of the prosecuting and defense attorney were manipulated. The results revealed indirect effects of prosecuting and defens...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Levi, Mary M. (Author) ; Lynch, Kellie R. (Author) ; Golding, Jonathan M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Violence against women
Year: 2022, Volume: 28, Issue: 9, Pages: 2010-2032
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Jury decision-making
attorney gender
Sexual Assault
Rape
Description
Summary:We examined the impact of attorney gender on perceptions of a criminal rape trial. Community members (N = 208) read a trial summary describing a rape scenario in which the gender of the prosecuting and defense attorney were manipulated. The results revealed indirect effects of prosecuting and defense attorney gender on verdict through perceptions of characteristics related to attorney competency. Qualitative analyses further showed that the terms “strength” and “powerful” were central to juror perceptions of male attorneys, whereas the terms “sensitive” and “sympathy” were central when the attorneys were female.
ISSN:1552-8448
DOI:10.1177/10778012211026002