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Determinants of Participant and Observer Satisfaction With Adversary and Inquisitorial Modes of Adjudication

NCJ Number
72665
Journal
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Volume: 36 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1978) Pages: 1531-1545
Author(s)
S LaTour
Date Published
1978
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Subjects who thought they were innocent were tried under one of four procedures to determine the reasons for previously reported greater satisfication of defendants and observers with adversary versus single investigator inquisitorial procedures.
Abstract
Participants were 99 undergraduate males who took part in the experiment as part of their psychology course. Another group of 57 males and 67 females served as observers. The four levels of trial procedure were single investigator procedure, double investigator procedure, assigned adversary procedure, and choice adversary procedure. The procedures incorporated the three essential differences between the adversary and inquisitorial models: two attorneys rather than one, attorney alignment with the defendant, and choice of attorney. All three factors were required to produce a significant increment in defendants' procedural satisfaction compared to the single investigator model. All three factors were also necessary to produce a significant increment in subjects' satisfaction with guilty verdicts. Only the number of attorneys produced a significant increase in observers' satisfaction with the procedure. Innocent verdicts produced more favorable procedure and verdict evaluations. Opportunity for evidence presentation appears to be a likely mediator of the impact of procedural variations on both participants' and observers' judgments. One reference note and 29 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)