COVID-19 and the courtroom: how social and cognitive psychological processes might affect trials during a pandemic

Around the world, almost every aspect of people’s lives has been affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We focused on one context that has received relatively little attention to date: the courtroom. Guided by established psychological findings and theories, we explored how the emergence of C...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Leach, Amy-May (Author)
Contributors: Woolridge, Lyndsay R. ; Cutler, Brian L. ; Neuschatz, Jeffrey S. ; Jenkins, Baylee D.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Psychology, crime & law
Year: 2022, Volume: 28, Issue: 8, Pages: 731-762
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Covid-19
Decision-making
Pandemic
courtroom
novel coronavirus
Description
Summary:Around the world, almost every aspect of people’s lives has been affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We focused on one context that has received relatively little attention to date: the courtroom. Guided by established psychological findings and theories, we explored how the emergence of COVID-19 and proposed protective measures against the virus (i.e. face masks, physical distancing) could affect legal decision-making at trial. For the majority of the phenomena that we considered, the extant literature predicted negative or mixed effects. Because it appears likely that extralegal factors related to the pandemic will affect outcomes, the fairness of proceedings must be called into question. Overall, this work suggests that the reopening of the courts might be premature. It also highlights the importance of leveraging established psychological findings to address questions arising from unpredictable events when direct research is not yet available.
ISSN:1477-2744
DOI:10.1080/1068316X.2021.1962867