Partisan allegiance in legal cases involving sexual assault
Partisan allegiance in legal cases involving sexual assault
Author
Adams, Lindsay
Jung, Sandy
Faculty Advisor
Date
2020
Keywords
partisan allegiance , Static-99R , sexual assault , expert testimony , risk assessment; sentencing
Abstract (summary)
The present study involved the assessment of partisan allegiance in expert witnesses in 261
Canadian sentencing decisions, each involving sexual assault. Sentencing decisions were
assessed to determine whether risk levels communicated by defense and prosecution-retained
evaluators reflect the presence of partisan allegiance. A validated risk measure (Static-99R) was
used to assess each sentenced defendant based on the information provided in the written
decision and served as an anchor (i.e., comparative assessment of risk). The risk levels for each
defendant, based on the Static-99R and information in the sentencing decisions, were used to
determine if there existed any discrepancy in the reporting of risk levels due to evaluator
allegiance. The results revealed that while the prosecution-retained experts’ scores correlated
with the researchers’ risk scores, they tended to provide a greater percentage of risk scores that
were higher than the researchers’ risk scores.
Publication Information
Adams, L., & Jung, S. (2020). Partisan allegiance in legal cases involving sexual assault. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 63, 1-9.
DOI
Notes
Item Type
Language
English
Rights
All Rights Reserved