Same action, different reaction? Exploring the impact of legal profession, defendant race, and prospective juror race on perceptions of juror excusals

Recent legislation (Bill C-75) abolished the use of peremptory challenges in Canada (Crown and defence attorneys can no longer remove prospective jurors from being considered for a jury without challenging for cause) while expanding judges’ powers to stand aside potential jurors, particularly in efforts to facilitate jury representativeness and improve the public’s confidence in the administration of justice. The present research is an initial investigation into whether judicial juror exclusions are perceived differently than those of lawyers, as well as to replicate and expand upon a classic racial discrimination in peremptory challenge use study from the United States (Sommers & Norton, 2007). In Study 1, Canadian undergraduate students (N = 574) assumed the role of a legal professional (Crown vs. defense vs. judge) in a (Black vs. White) defendant’s trial and excused any number of prospective jurors from a panel of 20. All three hypotheses derived from Sommers and Norton (2007) were supported: mock-Crown attorneys with Black defendants provided significantly more race-neutral (vs. race-present) jury excusal rationales despite excusing a significantly higher rate of Black (vs. White) prospective jurors, and this effect was significantly predicted by perceptions of the excused jurors’ conviction likelihood. In Studies 2 and 3, Canadian residents (N = 350 and N = 406, respectively) read a mock-newspaper article describing a legal professional’s (lawyer vs. judge) decision to use the majority of their juror excusals against Black (vs. White; Study 2) or Indigenous (vs. White; Study 3) prospective jurors. Across studies, Canadian residents reported that excusing a majority of Black and Indigenous (vs. White) prospective jurors was less fair, less competent, and more impacted by race related factors. While participants did perceive judges’ juror excusals as less based on racial factors than lawyers’ juror excusals, perceptions of the juror excusal generally did not vary by legal professional or the (in)congruency between defendant and excused juror race, as hypothesized. Additional pre-registered exploratory analyses were conducted across all three studies. Implications for jury representativeness and public confidence in the administration of justice are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forensic Psychology

Grantor

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Henry, Taya D.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Clow, Kimberley A.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10155/1971

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ontariotechu.scholaris.ca:10155/1971