Law and Human Behavior最新文献

Objective: We explored whether racial disparities in evidence-based suspicion (i.e., evidence of guilt prior to placement in a lineup) provide a better explanation of racial disparities in exonerations based on eyewitness misidentification than the own-race bias in eyewitness identifications.

Hypotheses: We predicted that the own-race bias in identification accuracy would be insufficiently large to fully explain the racial disparities in wrongful convictions in cases with mistaken identification. We also predicted that possible racial disparities in the prior probability of suspect guilt before subjecting suspects to the risk of misidentification might better explain racial disparities in wrongful convictions.

Method: We conducted a meta-analysis on 54 effect sizes extracted from 16 studies (1,503 individual participants) that tested whether there was an own-race bias in eyewitness identifications using a design that varied the race of both the witnesses and the target faces (Black vs. White). We also constructed two curves that plotted the prior probability of suspect guilt against the posterior probability of guilt: one if an identification were to be obtained for a Black suspect and one if an identification were to be obtained for a White suspect.

Results: Participants, irrespective of their race, were better able to discriminate among previously seen White than Black targets. However, the differential accuracy rates for identifications of White versus Black suspects were too small to explain racial disparities in exoneration data on their own. However, racial disparities in evidence that police have against suspects before placing them in an identification procedure would likely explain more of the variance in racial disparities in mistaken identifications that lead to wrongful convictions.

Conclusion: Memory errors caused by the own-race bias are likely not the sole or even primary cause of racial disparities in misidentifications; rather, systemic bias in the amount of evidence that police have before placing a suspect at risk of misidentification likely explains more of the variance of racial disparities in wrongful convictions based on mistaken identifications. Requirements for evidence-based suspicion before placing suspects in an identification procedure are needed to prevent systemic racism in mistaken identifications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

By law, before interrrogating a suspect who is in custody, the police should inform them of their Miranda rights-the rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney. When a suspect or defendant waives their Miranda rights, a judge ultimately determines whether the waiver was legal. In making this determination, the judge employs the totality of the circumstances (TOC) analysis, which includes factors related to the individual defendant as well as the environment in which they waived their rights. Frequently, forensic psychologists evaluate a defendant to offer courts a clinical opinion about the defendant's ability to understand and appreciate their Miranda rights and to provide other TOC information. These evaluations are referred to as Miranda evaluations. Using Miranda evaluations as an illustration, this article describes how the critical, yet often overlooked, concepts of racial trauma and vicarious and direct prior police contacts should routinely be considered as part of forensic evaluations. After providing a succinct overview of the relevant legal issues related to Miranda rights and of the existing guidelines for conducting Miranda evaluations, we discuss the psychological impact of racial trauma and prior vicarious and direct police contacts. We provide case examples to illustrate how evaluators can consider the impact of racial trauma and prior police contact when conducting Miranda evaluations. This article serves as a practical guide for understanding how and why-in the context of their lived experiences-suspects may waive their Miranda rights. Finally, we recommend how to improve policy and research to better capture issues related to racial trauma and prior police contacts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Police killings of Black civilians have brought unprecedented attention to racial and ethnic discrimination in the criminal justice and legal systems. However, these topics have been underexamined in the field of law-psychology, both in research and forensic-clinical practice. We discuss how a racial justice framework can provide guidance for advancing psycholegal research and forensic-clinical practice related to race, ethnicity, culture, and their intersections. A racial justice framework centers the goal of increasing fair and responsive treatment and just outcomes for the most vulnerable populations involved with the criminal justice, legal, and carceral systems and ending existing disparities. We argue that the framework should include the use of transparent nonobjectivity, in which racial justice is an explicit and acknowledged goal of research and practice that exists alongside a commitment to open and rigorous science and evidence-based practice. We then use the racial justice framework as a backdrop for discussing the articles and broader themes that appear in the special issue, which include racial biases in policing, public views of the police and use of force, expanding research on racial bias in lay judgments, understanding disparities in sentencing and corrections, and improving forensic practice. Finally, we look to the future, discussing practices and perspectives that can facilitate a racial justice approach in psycholegal research and forensic-clinical practice. Our recommendations include engaging in reflexivity and addressing positionality; expanding research questions and methods, especially qualitative and community-based participatory action research; centering and engaging with communities of color; greater emphasis on intersectionality; shifting toward structural and adaptive interventions; and greater integration of work from other fields. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Our first goal in this study was to identify cultural mistrust critical items (CMCIs) on two versions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-the MMPI-Second Edition-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) and MMPI-Third Edition (MMPI-3)-that might be endorsed by people of color because of cultural mistrust rather than clinical paranoia. Our second goal was to determine whether CMCIs and items on the MMPI-2-RF/MMPI-3 Ideas of Persecution scale (Restructured Clinical Scale 6 [RC6]) were endorsed at different rates across cultural groups in a nonclinical college sample and a forensic inpatient sample.

Hypotheses: Our primary hypothesis was that expert raters would reliably identify a subset of MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-3 items as reflective of cultural mistrust. Black college students would endorse the highest level of CMCIs, followed by Latina/o students, and then White students. We hypothesized that the same pattern of findings would occur in forensic inpatients but that the differences would be attenuated because of the high base rate of psychiatric symptomatology and the nature of the forensic assessment setting.

Method: Three Black female and three Black male psychologists rated the degree to which each item on the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-3 reflected cultural mistrust. Black (n = 90), Latina/o (n = 83), and White (n = 100) college students were compared on CMCIs and on MMPI-2-RF/MMPI-3 RC6 item endorsement. The same comparisons were made among Black (n = 221), Latina/o (n = 142), and White (n = 483) forensic inpatients who completed the MMPI-2-RF.

Results: Black college students endorsed the highest levels of cultural mistrust, followed by Latina/o students, and then White students, resulting in small-to-medium effect sizes (Hedges's gs = 0.14-0.52). Although we observed some item-level differences in forensic patients, the overall pattern of item endorsement did not significantly differ in this group.

Conclusions: There are multiple reasons for the reporting of clinical paranoia and cultural mistrust in forensic assessment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Intervening in the cycle of symptom exacerbation and recidivism among justice-involved veterans is critical given elevated rates of psychiatric diagnoses and mental health sequelae. To responsively and effectively address justice-involved veterans' needs, it is essential to examine distinct groups who are at heightened risk (e.g., marginalized communities). Although racial and ethnic disparities within the justice system are well established, veteran-focused research remains limited.

Hypotheses: We hypothesized that significant differences exist in service utilization, psychiatric diagnoses, and mental health sequelae among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and White/non-Hispanic justice-involved veterans, for both male and female cohorts.

Method: We examined a national data set of veterans accessing U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) justice-related services (i.e., justice-involved veterans) between 2005 and 2018 (N = 183,880; nBIPOC = 73,863, nWhite = 110,017) to elucidate racial and ethnic differences across clinical characteristics documented in the VA electronic medical record. Using linear and logistic analyses, we analyzed male (n = 173,487) and female (n = 10,393) justice-involved veterans separately to capture intersectionality.

Results: In general, BIPOC justice-involved veterans were more likely than White/non-Hispanic justice-involved veterans to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders and to use homeless services, p < .001. They were less likely to be diagnosed with mood, anxiety, personality, and opioid use disorders, p < .01. Separate examinations of Black and Hispanic justice-involved veterans, compared with their White/non-Hispanic counterparts, demonstrated some divergent trends (e.g., frequency of use of Veterans Health Administration [VHA] services). Our findings also revealed nuanced sex-related differences in terms of service use and diagnoses. Descriptive characteristics for each racial and ethnic category are reported.

Conclusion: These findings provide support for race and ethnicity as a key social factor of health associated with distinct psychiatric diagnoses and mental health sequelae among justice-involved veterans. We discuss practice and policy implications, including how to adapt existing VHA programming and practices to meet the needs of BIPOC justice-involved veterans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: We assessed the factors that legitimized the police in the United States at an important moment of history, just after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. We also evaluated one way of incorporating perceptions of systemic racism into procedural justice theory.

Hypotheses: We tested two primary hypotheses. The first hypothesis was that perceptions of police procedural justice, distributive justice, and bounded authority were important to the legitimization of the police. The second hypothesis was that perceptions of the under- and overpolicing of Black communities also mattered to the delegitimization of the institution, especially for people who identified with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Method: A cross-sectional quota sample survey of 1,500 U.S. residents was conducted in June 2020. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and latent moderated structural equation modeling.

Results: People who viewed the police as legitimate also tended to believe that police treated people with respect and dignity, made decisions in unbiased ways, fairly allocated their finite resources across groups in society, and respected the limits of their rightful authority. Moreover, people who believed that Black communities were underpoliced and overpoliced also tended to question the legitimacy of the police, especially if they identified with the Black Lives Matter movement. These results held among Black and White study participants alike.

Conclusions: At the time of the study, systemic racism in policing may have delegitimized the institution in a way that transcended the factors that procedural justice theory focuses on, such as procedural justice. This was especially so for individuals who identified with a social movement, Black Lives Matter, that had an extremely high profile in 2020. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Using archival and experimental methods, we tested the role that racial associations of first names play in criminal sentencing.

Hypotheses: We hypothesized that Black defendants with more stereotypically Black names (e.g., Jamal) would receive more punitive sentences than Black defendants with more stereotypically White names (e.g., James).

Method: In an archival study, we obtained a random sample of 296 real-world records of Black male prison inmates in Florida and asked participants to rate the extent to which each inmate's first name was stereotypically Black or stereotypically White. We then tested the extent to which racial stereotypicality was associated with sentence length, controlling for relevant legal features of each case (e.g., criminal record, severity of convicted offenses). In a follow-up experiment, participant judges assigned sentences in cases in which the Black male defendant was randomly assigned a more stereotypically Black or White name from our archival study.

Results: Controlling for a wide array of factors-including criminal record-we found that inmates with more stereotypically Black versus White first names received longer sentences β = 0.09, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) [0.01, 0.16]: 409 days longer for names 1 standard deviation above versus below the mean on racial stereotypicality. In our experiment, participant judges recommended significantly longer sentences to Black inmates with more stereotypically Black names above and beyond the severity of the charges or their criminal history, β = 0.07, 95% CI [0.02, 0.13].

Conclusions: Our results identify how racial associations with first names can bias consequential sentencing decisions despite the impartial aims of the legal system. More broadly, our findings illustrate how racial biases manifest in distinctions made among members of historically marginalized groups, not just between members of different groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The overrepresentation of numerous racial/ethnic groups in the criminal legal system warrants examination of the cross-cultural applicability of risk assessment tools. Static-99R is a tool used in diverse countries to assess sexual recidivism risk. We conducted a meta-analysis on the predictive accuracy of Static-99R across different racial/ethnic groups.

Hypotheses: No hypotheses were made regarding discrimination, given that past research could support hypotheses of differential or equivalent accuracy. We hypothesized that Indigenous individuals would score higher on Static-99R than non-Indigenous or White individuals.

Method: Our search identified 18 eligible documents (from 17 distinct studies) with 41 nonoverlapping effect sizes. These 17 studies examined the predictive accuracy of Static-99R with racially/ethnically diverse men charged with or convicted of sexually motivated offenses. We report analyses using both fixed-effect and random-effects meta-analysis.

Results: Indigenous and Black individuals scored significantly higher on Static-99R than their non-Indigenous or White counterparts, with small effect sizes. For discrimination, area under the curve (AUC) values were generally moderate-to-large and statistically significant for all groups in both fixed-effect and random-effects analyses. Within-study subgroup analyses indicated significantly lower accuracy for Indigenous and Hispanic individuals compared with White/non-Indigenous samples (though for Hispanic individuals, this finding was significant only in the fixed-effect analyses). No statistically significant differences in accuracy were found between White and Black individuals. Static-99R significantly predicted recidivism with large effect sizes across two samples of Asian individuals. Two studies supported calibration across Black, White, and Hispanic individuals. Two studies examining calibration of Static-99R for Indigenous individuals had mixed findings.

Conclusions: Given a small number of studies and limitations with both the fixed- and random-effects analyses, readers should interpret findings regarding Hispanic individuals with caution. The analyses clearly found significant but lower accuracy for Static-99R with Indigenous individuals. Potential reasons for this differential accuracy are discussed, along with limitations of the meta-analysis and suggestions for research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Many highly publicized police use-of-force encounters have recently occurred in the United States. This project primarily explored whether officer, juror, or victim race affects verdicts in trials involving police use of force.

Hypotheses: Because of recent conflicting research surrounding race and juror decision-making, we conducted an exploratory analysis on the interactive effects of juror, victim, and defendant race. We hypothesized that mock jurors with favorable perceptions of police legitimacy would be less likely to convict an officer charged with manslaughter.

Method: Four hundred sixteen (243 women, 170 men, three another gender; 263 White, 50 Asian, 44 Black, 41 Latine, four Native American, 14 another race/ethnicity) jury-eligible community members read a trial transcript involving a police officer charged with manslaughter, in which we manipulated victim and defendant race (Black, White), then rendered a verdict and answered a questionnaire.

Results: We found significant effects of police legitimacy and defendant race on verdicts. The main effect was qualified by an interaction between juror race/ethnicity and defendant race. Simple-slope analyses revealed no effect of defendant race for White mock jurors. In comparison, Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) mock jurors were significantly more likely to convict a White than a Black defendant. We also observed significant effects of police legitimacy, defendant race, and victim race on perceptions of the officer's use of force.

Conclusions: Our analyses revealed that mock jurors were significantly more punitive when the defendant was White compared with Black, and they perceived the officer's use of force as significantly more excessive when the officer was White or the victim was Black. These effects appear to be driven primarily by BIPOC jurors. Mock jurors with more favorable perceptions of police legitimacy were significantly less likely to convict the officer and viewed his use of force as less excessive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).