Gender effects on individual verdicts and on mock jury verdicts in a ...

with a knife.
Next, students read excerpts from the trial transcript. These included questioning of the
victim by the prosecutor and cross examination by the defense attorney. The victim's
"low" moral character was suggested on cross examination by having her admit to having
invited her boyfriend and men she met at the pub to her apartment, but hesitating, then
refusing to answer the question: "Other than your boyfriend, have you had intercourse
with any of these other men?" until instructed to answer by the Judge and then answering
"Yes." Third, students read the Doctor's medical report, which indicated: "Patient was
treated for minor bruises and lacerations of the face and neck which were the result of an
alleged rape. Evidence of sexual intercourse was found." The medical report also said that
the patient was in a state of shock, but able to talk about the incident in some detail, and
that the patient was given a mild sedative injection, released to her roommate, with
recommendations of rest and referral to a Rape Crisis Center. Fourth, students read the
Judge's instructions to the jury. Briefly, the latter described the jurors' task, explained the
terms "credibility" and "corroboration" and directed that "the evidence of the two
scratches on the neck of the complainant, as observed by friends, the police officer, and
the doctor, was evidence capable of amounting to corroboration, but whether or not it did
corroborate her story is up to members of the jury to decide." The judge's instructions
also included the need for the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the
defendant did rape Nancy Lawrence and, "in the end vote in accordance with your
conscience."(2) Lastly, students answered anonymously five demographic items, then a
6-item survey of their opinions about the trial.
Trial Survey
Part I of the trial-opinion survey were the five demographic items: marital status
[married, divorced, single, but am (or was) in a relationship or single], ethnicity [Native
American Indian, Black American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Anglo
American or Caucasian (White) or Other], number of full siblings, age and gender. Part II
consisted of the following seven questions: (1) "In your opinion, is the defendant guilty
or not guilty?" (2) "How certain are you about your verdict?" (very certain, fairly certain,
not very certain, or very uncertain), (3) If you were the judge at the trial, and the jury
found the defendant guilty, which of the following sentences would you choose?
(Probation, less than one year, 1-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-20 years, more than 20 years), (4)
"How important do you think the behavior of the victim was in contributing to the alleged
assault?" (very important, somewhat important, not sure, somewhat unimportant, very
unimportant), (5) "How would you rate the degree to which the alleged assault was the
victim's own fault?" (not at all, somewhat, as much her fault as his, mostly, totally), (6)
"How would your rate the fault or responsibility of the defendant in committing the
assault?" (totally, mostly, somewhat, neutral, not at all), and (7) "How important do you
think the consumption of alcohol was in contributing to the alleged assault?" (very
important, somewhat important, not sure, somewhat unimportant, very unimportant).
Mock Juries