Mock jurors' attitudes toward aboriginal defendants: A symbolic racism approach

The purposes of this study were to investigate: (1) whether mock jurors would discriminate against an Aboriginal defendant in a criminal murder trial, and (2') whether, if such discrimination was evident, it could be moderated by symbolic racism or jury instructions. A community sample from the British Columbia lower mainland read a trial vignette in which the defendant's race (Aboriginal or Non-Aboriginal) and jury instructions (given or not given) were systematically varied, and rated how guilty they believed the defendant was. No effects on guilt ratings were observed for the defendant's race or jury instructions, but a significant .interaction was observed between the defendant's race and scores on 1 of the 2 fxtors comprising the symbolic racism scale. This finding suggests that future research on juror prejudice against Canadian Aboriginals using more ecologically valid methods is merited, and that symbolic racism theory provides a useful theoretical foundation for such inquiries.