The Role of Defendant Race and Racially Charged Media in the Canadian Courtroom

This study sought to examine the influence of defendant race and racially charged media on Canadian mock jurors’ trial decisions. Two-hundred and ten participants read a racially charged or racially neutral article followed by a trial transcript involving a White, Black, or Aboriginal-Canadian defendant. Diverging from previous findings, this study did not find an effect of defendant race or race salience on verdict judgements or causal attributions. Rather, it demonstrated that when race is not a central feature to the case, making race salient may actually increase levels of racial bias for some mock jurors. The implication of this research largely appears to be that race salience affects Canadian and American mock jurors differently. Potential explanations and further implications for these unexpected findings are discussed.