Justice is Still Not Colorblind: Differential Racial Effects of Exposure to Inadmissible Evidence

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to assess whether the effects of inadmissible information in a simulated criminal trial is moderated by race. The significant interaction between information admissibility and defendant's race indicated that the effect of inadmissible information was stronger when the defendant was Black. More specifically, perceptions of the appropriate verdict did not vary as a function of race in the admissible or control condition. On the other hand, in the inadmissible condition, perceptions of the appropriate verdict were higher for the Black defendant than for the White defendant. Interestingly, subjects in the Black-defendant-inadmissible condition felt that they were less affected by the inadmissible information than subjects in the White-defendant-inadmissible condition.