An Experimental Exploration of Reasonable Doubt

29 Pages Posted: 7 Mar 2022

See all articles by Jason Ralston

Jason Ralston

Whitman College

Jason Aimone

Baylor University

Stanton Hudja

Baylor University

Wilson Law

Baylor University

Charles M. North

Baylor University Department of Economics

Lucas Rentschler

Utah State University - Department of Economics and Finance

Abstract

The definition of reasonable doubt presented in jury instructions varies considerably across states. We use a controlled experiment to analyze the relationship between the definition of reasonable doubt and juror decisions. In our novel (preregistered) experiment, we vary the definition of reasonable doubt between subjects and elicit the level of evidence required for subjects to convict a defendant. We analyze juror decisions under two state definitions that are markedly different (Wisconsin and West Virginia) and analyze juror decisions when reasonable doubt is not explicitly defined. We find similar behavior in each treatment. We ran three additional treatments to determine why behavior does not seem to vary across definitions. Our data is consistent with subjects having pre-conceived notions of reasonable doubt that are not affected by jury instructions.

Keywords: Reasonable Doubt, Criminal Justice, Laboratory Experiments

Suggested Citation

Ralston, Jason and Aimone, Jason and Hudja, Stanton and Law, Wilson and North, Charles M. and Rentschler, Lucas, An Experimental Exploration of Reasonable Doubt. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4051447 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4051447

Jason Ralston (Contact Author)

Whitman College ( email )

P.O. Box 98003
Walla Walla, WA 99362
United States

Jason Aimone

Baylor University

Stanton Hudja

Baylor University ( email )

School of Engineering & Computer Science
Waco, TX 76798
United States

Wilson Law

Baylor University

Charles M. North

Baylor University Department of Economics ( email )

One Bear Place # 98003
Waco, TX 76798-8003
United States

Lucas Rentschler

Utah State University - Department of Economics and Finance ( email )

Logan, UT 84322-1400
United States

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