Effects of Language of Testimony, Defendant's Ethnicity, Juror's Language Dominance and Ethnicity on Jury Decisions

证词语言、被告的种族、陪审员的语言优势和种族对陪审团决定的影响

• 批准号: 9905741
• 负责人: Harmon Hosch
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at El Paso
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-15 至 2001-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9905741&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Effects; Language; Testimony; Defendant; Ethnicity

This research investigates the influence of Spanish to English interpretation of defendants' testimony and of juror language dominance on the judicial processing of Hispanic defendants. Specific factors to be evaluated include the influence of the defendant's language of testimony, defendant's ethnicity, and jurors' ethnicity and language dominance on judicial processing of criminal defendants. The research will fill a void in our understanding of several issues. First, little is known about the disposition of cases involving Hispanic defendants. The national Hispanic population (10.95%) is growing so rapidly that it is projected to surpass the black non-Hispanic population (12.14%) within the next 6 years (U.S. Bureau of Census, 1996). Second, in multilingual environments, trials are conducted with courtroom interpretation of testimony with increasing frequency. As the monolingual Spanish-speaking population has increased, Spanish-English interpretation is critical to the processing of many Hispanic defendants. Almost no data are available to evaluate the impact of interpreted testimony on trial outcomes where juries have deliberated. Third, the project focuses on the influence of interpretation on jurors' decision-making in a context in which the population is predominantly Hispanic and where many jurors are themselves bilingual. To study these variables, an experiment high in mundane realism is being conducted. Six versions of a burglary trial are shown to participants via videotape. Three thousand jury-eligible community residents will serve as mock jurors. After seeing and hearing the evidence, jurors deliberate to decide if the defendant is guilty or not. If they find him guilty, they will make a recommendation for a sentence. The data will be analyzed at the jury and juror levels, using multivariate statistical techniques that will enable the researcher to assess the attributions jurors have of the defendant and the case disposition patterns. The results will contribute to a better understanding of how Hispanic defendants are treated in the criminal justice system, the influence of courtroom interpretation, and the effects of jurors' language dominance on their decision--making and jury verdicts. They will also inform policy makers about the bilingual courtroom.

本研究探讨了西班牙语对被告证言的英语口译的影响，以及陪审员语言优势对西班牙裔被告司法处理的影响。需要评估的具体因素包括被告的证词语言、被告的种族、陪审员的种族和语言优势对刑事被告司法处理的影响。这项研究将填补我们对几个问题认识上的空白。首先，对涉及西班牙裔被告的案件的处理情况知之甚少。全国西班牙裔人口（10.95%）增长如此迅速，预计在未来6年内将超过非西班牙裔黑人人口（12.14%）（美国人口普查局，1996年）。第二，在多语言环境中，审判越来越频繁地采用法庭证词口译。随着单语西班牙语人口的增加，西班牙语-英语口译对许多西班牙裔被告的处理至关重要。几乎没有可用的数据来评估解释证词对陪审团审议的审判结果的影响。第三，该项目侧重于在人口主要为西班牙裔且许多陪审员本身是双语的情况下，口译对陪审员决策的影响。为了研究这些变量，正在进行一项高度现实主义的实验。通过录像带向参与者展示了六个版本的入室盗窃审判。3000名符合陪审员资格的社区居民将担任模拟陪审员。陪审员在看到和听到证据后，审议决定被告是否有罪。如果他们认定他有罪，他们将提出量刑建议。这些数据将在陪审团和陪审员层面进行分析，使用多元统计技术，使研究人员能够评估陪审员对被告的归因和案件处理模式。这些结果将有助于更好地理解西班牙裔被告在刑事司法系统中的待遇，法庭口译的影响，以及陪审员的语言优势对他们的决策和陪审团裁决的影响。他们还将向政策制定者通报双语法庭。