Racism in the Jury Box: The Hispanic Defendant

Abstract

Despite the voluminous empirical literature on the social psychology of juries, very little research has centered on racial or ethnic issues. Indeed, there has been no previous research on Hispanics or on minority groups other than blacks. The present study involved an innovative methodology high in both experimental and mundane realism, incorporating a procedure whereby participants believed that they were actually on a jury whose decisions would really affect a defendant. Six-person juries, of varied sex and ethnic composition, deliberated and made decisions in cases involving Hispanic or Anglo defendants. The results highlight the importance and saliency of ethnic factors in jury research and underscore the efficacy of the methodology employed.