Common wisdom seems to suggest that racial bias, defined as disparate treatment of minority defendants, exists in jury decision-making, with Black defendants being treated more harshly by jurors than White defendants. The empirical research, however, is inconsistent--some studies show racial bias while others do not. Two previous meta-analyses have found conflicting results regarding the existence of racial bias in juror decision-making (Mazzella & Feingold, 1994, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 1315-1344; Sweeney & Haney, 1992, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 10, 179-195). This research takes a meta-analytic approach to further investigate the inconsistencies within the empirical literature on racial bias in juror decision-making by defining racial bias as disparate treatment of racial out-groups (rather than focusing upon the minority group alone). Our results suggest that a small, yet significant, effect of racial bias in decision-making is present across studies, but that the effect becomes more pronounced when certain moderators are considered. The state of the research will be discussed in light of these findings.

Studies documenting the existence of prejudice in simulated juror ratings of guilt may not be directly generalizable to legal applications due to a failure to include jury instructions. Jury instructions specifying the conditions required to find a defendant guilty may serve to dissipate juror's overt prejudices. In order to investigate this hypothesis, participants read a transcript of a trial in which the race of the victim and the defendant were varied. In addition, half the participants were given jury instructions which specified the elements of the crime, and noted that in order to find the defendant guilty each element had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Participants were then asked to rate the guilt of the defendant. Results replicated earlier studies which found that participants overwhelmingly rate black defendants guiltier than white defendants, especially when the victim is white. However, these differences disappeared when participants were provided with jury instructions. The findings are discussed with regard to the theory of modern racism.

This research investigated whether the prejudicial attitudes of mock jurors in Canada produce criminal sanction disparities similar to those reported by research in the United States. In order to investigate this hypothesis, English Canadian participants read a transcript of a sexual assault trial that varied the ethnic background of both the victim and the defendant (i.e., English, French or Native Canadian). Participants were then asked to rate the guilt of the defendant in two ways: (1) on a 7-point bipolar scale in accordance with their personal beliefs (i.e., Subjective Guilt Rating), and (2) on a dichotomous scale (guilty/not guilty) in accor- dance with judicial instructions (i.e., Legal Standard Guilt Rating). Participants were also asked to rate the victim and defendant on a number of personality traits. Results indicate that participants asked to rate the degree of guilt of the defendant according to the Subjective Guilt Rating found him more guilty if he was French, or Native Canadian as opposed to English Canadian. These prejudicial ratings, however, dissipated when participants were asked to rate the guilt of the defendant according to the Legal Standard Guilt Rating that included jury instructions. This apparent paradox in results is discussed in terms of modern racism theory.

Culturally responsive disability assistance should be available at all phases of the justice system for Indigenous people with cognitive impairment to ensure that equitable care is accessible and needs are addressed.

This study examined whether findings from research on the cross-race effect (CRE) in eyewitness memory with Caucasian-Black samples can be generalised to Caucasian-First Nations pairings in a lineup idenliflcation task. This study used a novel approach to investigate the CRE. using six targets, as well as simultaneous lineups that included both target-present atid target-absent arrays. This study also addressed the efficacy of the contact hypothesis as it applies to these populations. A significant CRE was discovered. Furthermore. Ixith Caaca.sian and First Nations participants were more likeiy to ch(K)se from the lineup when attempting to recognise First Nations faces than when attempting to recognise Caucasian faces. Contact with the other race had no effect on recognition accuracy of that race. Potential implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Because insurance adjusters' decisions about whether to grant compensation to disability claimants are often based on subjective criteria, such decisions may be susceptible to the influence of factors irrelevant to the claimant's disabling condition. Objective: To examine whether judgments about compensation claimants are affected by the claimants' way of coping with pain and by claimant sex. Participants: Two hundred undergraduate students. Study Design: Participants made judgments about vignettes describing fictitious compensation claimants with differing strategies of coping with pain. The main analytic approach involved a multivariate analysis of variance with 5 within-subjects factors (i.e., coping style described in each of 5 vignettes) and 2 between-subjects factors (i.e., sex of claimant described in the vignettes). Results: Coping style was significantly related to perceptions of pain severity and disability and to beliefs about whether compensation should be awarded. Claimants who were described as engaging in catastrophizing or in praying and hoping were more likely than other claimants to be perceived as disabled and as deserving compensation for their injuries. Conclusions: Decisions about disability compensation could be influenced by claimant

This review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of well-being interventions offered to correctional officers within prison settings. A search strategy was developed and 11 databases were searched to identify eligible studies. Articles were screened against preset eligibility criteria, and quality was assessed using the Downs and Black Checklist. Nine studies were identified, including four single-group design and five quasi-experimental designed studies. Interventions comprised a mixture of crisis interventions, psychoeducational programs, and an exercise program. For those studies with sufficient data, a meta-analysis was conducted to examine intervention effects on stress and psychopathology. Fixed-effects meta-analysis showed that treatment had no effect on stress or psychopathology. Of those studies that could not be included in the meta-analysis, there were mixed outcomes. These findings highlight the need for more rigorous study designs and suggest further research is needed to examine the theoretical mechanisms in the development of interventions within correctional settings.

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