Attitudes, anger, and nullification instructions influence jurors’ verdicts in euthanasia cases

Peter-Hagene, Liana C.; Bottoms, Bette L.

doi:10.1080/1068316x.2017.1351967

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…However, there is considerable research that attempts to understand the outcome of trials more broadly. This includes exploring pre-trial attitudes (Griffin, 2016;Lundrigan et al, 2013;Peter-Hagene & Bottoms, 2017), testimony style (Conley et al, 1978;Freedman et al, 1996;Hildebrand-Edgar & Ehrlich, 2017;O'Barr, 1982), and the influence of social media (Bakhshay & Haney, 2018;Battaglia, 2012;Taylor & Tarrant, 2019). Furthermore, many factors have been examined related to what influences a juror member's verdict: factors related to jury decision making (Rodriguez et al, 2019;Weinstock & Flaton, 2004) and the race of the defendant (Leippe et al, 2016;Skolnick & Shaw, 2010;Sommers, 2007).…”

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confidence: 99%

Understanding the Role of Linguistic Complexity in Famous Trial Outcomes

Zubrod

Conway

et al. 2020

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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Famous trials not only generate immense popularity and intrigue, they also have the power to change history. Surprisingly, little research examines the use of complex language during these culturally-significant trial outcomes. In the present study, we helped fill in this gap by evaluating the relationship between attorneys’ use of integratively complex language and trial outcomes. Using the well-validated Automated Integrative Complexity scoring system, we analyzed the complexity of language in the opening and closing statements of famous trials. We found that higher levels of integrative complexity led to a significant increase in winning outcomes, but only for the prosecution. Further, this effect was driven by elaborative forms of complexity and not dialectical forms of complexity. Taken together, these results fill a large gap in our understanding of how language might influence the outcomes of culturally-significant legal proceedings.

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confidence: 99%

Understanding the Role of Linguistic Complexity in Famous Trial Outcomes

Zubrod

Conway

et al. 2020

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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“…Consider research into the phenomenon of jury nullification (i.e., of trials in which jurors refuse to apply the law and acquit the accused notwithstanding their legal guilt, thereby nullifying the law; Scheflin, 1972, p. 169). Such research identifies jury nullification as occurring when jurors defy the letter of the law (Peter-Hagene & Bottoms, 2017). Accordingly, jurors are said to face a dilemma between “follow[ing] the law, or … engaging in jury nullification … if [doing so] would violate their sense of justice” (Peter-Hagene & Bottoms, 2017, p. 983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such research identifies jury nullification as occurring when jurors defy the letter of the law (Peter-Hagene & Bottoms, 2017). Accordingly, jurors are said to face a dilemma between “follow[ing] the law, or … engaging in jury nullification … if [doing so] would violate their sense of justice” (Peter-Hagene & Bottoms, 2017, p. 983). Our results suggest that in fact this may sometimes be a false dilemma: the question of whether to find someone guilty of a crime whose actions were morally justified may be intuitively internal rather than external to the process of applying the law.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies now confirm that this tendency is not confined to judicial contexts: Laypeople's judgments of whether a rule has been violated are routinely influenced by elements beyond the rule's literal meaning. This effect has been demonstrated in the context of household and institutional rules (Bregant et al, 2019;LaCosse & Quintanilla, 2021;Struchiner et al, 2020), minor legal rules (Garcia et al, 2014;Turri, 2019;Turri & Blouw, 2015), and criminal laws (Kahan, 2010;Peter-Hagene & Bottoms, 2017;Peter-Hagene & Ratliff, 2021).…”

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confidence: 90%

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Moral appraisals guide intuitive legal determinations.

Flanagan¹,

Almeida²,

Struchiner³

et al. 2023

Law and Human Behavior

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Objectives: We sought to understand how basic competencies in moral reasoning influence the application of private, institutional, and legal rules. Hypotheses: We predicted that moral appraisals, implicating both outcome-based and mental state reasoning, would shape participants’ interpretation of rules and statutes—and asked whether these effects arise differentially under intuitive and reflective reasoning conditions. Method: In six vignette-based experiments (total N = 2,473; 293 university law students [67% women; age bracket mode: 18–22 years] and 2,180 online workers [60% women; mean age = 31.9 years]), participants considered a wide range of written rules and laws and determined whether a protagonist had violated the rule in question. We manipulated morally relevant aspects of each incident—including the valence of the rule’s purpose (Study 1) and of the outcomes that ensued (Studies 2 and 3), as well as the protagonist’s accompanying mental state (Studies 5 and 6). In two studies, we simultaneously varied whether participants decided under time pressure or following a forced delay (Studies 4 and 6). Results: Moral appraisals of the rule’s purpose, the agent’s extraneous blameworthiness, and the agent’s epistemic state impacted legal determinations and helped to explain participants’ departure from rules’ literal interpretation. Counter-literal verdicts were stronger under time pressure and were weakened by the opportunity to reflect. Conclusions: Under intuitive reasoning conditions, legal determinations draw on core competencies in moral cognition, such as outcome-based and mental state reasoning. In turn, cognitive reflection dampens these effects on statutory interpretation, allowing text to play a more influential role.

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“…In another mock jury experiment, it was found that, irrespective of the presence of a nullification instruction, jurors who possessed attitudes favorable to euthanasia reported significantly lower ratings of guilt (Meissner et al, 2003). Most recently, Peter-Hagene and Bottoms (2017) discovered that mock jurors that possessed pro-euthanasia attitudes were more likely to acquit and that the presence of a nullification instruction enhanced this tendency.…”

Section: Acceptability Of Euthanasiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Juror Decision Making and Euthanasia: Exploring the Role of Jury Nullification, Manner of Death, and Defendant-Decedent Relationship

et al. 2022

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In cases of euthanasia, determinations of guilt may be influenced by legal and extra-legal factors. This study explores the role that nullification instructions play in juror decision making. A defendant may be viewed as less culpable if the act was done out of mercy and jury nullification may occur as a result. We anticipated that these determinations may be influenced by the manner of death and the relational distance between the defendant and the decedent. It is unknown how euthanasia is viewed when it is performed by a physician compared to a family member or friend. To answer these questions, participants acted as mock jurors in a euthanasia case. The descriptions of the case varied by the presence of nullification instructions, the manner of death, and the defendant’s relationship to the decedent. The results revealed significant effects of method of euthanasia and the type of defendant on juror verdicts. Jurors were most likely to acquit in a case that provided nullification instructions and involved a spouse using lethal injection for euthanasia. This finding suggests that different circumstances of a euthanasia case will affect jurors’ propensity to focus on personal sympathies and interpretations. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

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Attitudes, anger, and nullification instructions influence jurors’ verdicts in euthanasia cases

Cited by 9 publications

References 68 publications

Understanding the Role of Linguistic Complexity in Famous Trial Outcomes

Understanding the Role of Linguistic Complexity in Famous Trial Outcomes

Moral appraisals guide intuitive legal determinations.

Juror Decision Making and Euthanasia: Exploring the Role of Jury Nullification, Manner of Death, and Defendant-Decedent Relationship

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