Implicit Biases and Discretionary Prosecutorial Decision Making

摘要在美国，检察官自由裁量权赋予刑事检察官决定是否追究或驳回初始刑事指控以及是否进行辩诉交易的能力。然而，对于检察官在做出这些重大法律决定时可能激励他们的因素，包括是否有偏见会影响他们的决定，人们知之甚少。当犯罪涉及亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）时，理解这一决策过程尤为重要。该项目将研究和比较IPV案件中起诉决定中潜在的隐性偏见。该项目将采用实验性方法，招募检察官参与。将采取措施评估任何显性和隐性偏见。在这些试验中，检察官将获得IPV刑事调查初期阶段的材料，包括逮捕报告和证人陈述。涉嫌犯罪的个人的性别和性取向将被操纵和改变。然后检察官将决定他们将如何处理此案，包括是否指控重罪或轻罪，以及是否提供辩诉交易。这个多学科项目涉及心理学和刑事司法文献的理论。通过此次研究，可以深入了解在IPV案件中，检察官在做出判决时受到的各种影响。此外，通过更全面地了解检察自由裁量权，它有可能指导改革和改进实践。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Title: Implicit Biases and Discretionary Prosecutorial Decision Making AbstractIn the United States, prosecutorial discretion provides criminal prosecutors with the ability to decide whether to pursue or dismiss initial criminal charges, and whether to negotiate a plea bargain. However, not much is known about the factors that may motivate prosecutors when they make these significant legal decisions, including whether any biases may influence their decisions. Understanding this decision-making process is particularly important when the crime involves intimate partner violence (IPV). This project will study and compare potential implicit biases in prosecutorial decisions in cases of IPV.This project will employ an experimental approach with prosecutors recruited to participate. Measures will be taken to assess any explicit and implicit biases. In the experiments the prosecutors will then be provided with materials from the initial stages of an IPV criminal investigation, including the arrest report and witness statements. The gender and sexual orientation of the individuals involved in the alleged offense will be manipulated and varied. Prosecutors will then determine how they would proceed in the case, including whether to charge a felony or misdemeanor, and whether to offer a plea bargain. This multidisciplinary project engages theoretically in the psychology and criminal justice literatures. The research will provide insight into various influences on prosecutors when rendering decisions in IPV cases. As well, by offering a more comprehensive understanding of prosecutorial discretion, it has the potential to guide reform and improve practice.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.