Implicit Biases and Discretionary Prosecutorial Decision Making

标题：隐含的偏见和自由裁量的检察决策摘要在美国，检察自由裁量权使刑事检察官能够决定是否起诉或驳回最初的刑事指控，以及是否谈判辩诉交易。然而，对于检察官做出这些重大法律决定时可能会受到激励的因素，包括是否有任何偏见可能会影响他们的决定，人们知之甚少。当犯罪涉及亲密伴侣暴力(IPV)时，了解这一决策过程尤为重要。该项目将研究和比较在IPV案件中检察决定中潜在的隐性偏见。该项目将采用一种试验性方法，招募检察官参与。将采取措施评估任何显性和隐性的偏见。在实验中，检察官将获得IPV刑事调查初始阶段的材料，包括逮捕报告和证人陈述。参与指控犯罪的个人的性别和性取向将受到操纵和变化。然后，检察官将决定他们将如何处理此案，包括是否起诉重罪或轻罪，以及是否提供辩诉交易。这个多学科项目在理论上涉及心理学和刑事司法文献。这项研究将为检察官在IPV案件中做出决定时产生的各种影响提供洞察。此外，通过提供对检察自由裁量权的更全面的理解，它有可能指导改革和改进实践。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点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.