Implicit Biases and Discretionary Prosecutorial Decision Making

职务名称：在美国，检察官的自由裁量权使刑事检察官有能力决定是否追究或驳回最初的刑事指控，以及是否谈判认罪协议。然而，人们对检察官在作出这些重大法律的决定时可能受到哪些因素的激励知之甚少，包括是否有任何偏见可能影响他们的决定。当犯罪涉及亲密伴侣暴力时，了解这一决策过程尤为重要。该项目将研究和比较在IPV案件中检察官决定中潜在的隐性偏见。该项目将采用一种实验方法，招募检察官参与。将采取措施评估任何显性和隐性偏见。在试验中，将向检察官提供国际警察局刑事调查初步阶段的材料，包括逮捕报告和证人证词。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。这个多学科的项目在理论上从事心理学和刑事司法文献。该研究将提供深入了解检察官在IPV案件中做出决定时的各种影响。此外，通过提供对起诉裁量权的更全面的理解，它有可能指导改革和改进实践。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

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.