¶ … Kathy Pezdek of Claremont Graduate University. To conduct the ethical review thoroughly, Pezdek's credentials would need to be evaluated, in terms of whether the author had conducted similar research in the past. There is no indication that Pezdek worked with colleagues on this research but it might be helpful to know if she had conducted similar studies in the past to determine the level of entrenchment in the field.
This is a criminal justice research into the effect of different types of eyewitness testimony on plea bargaining decisions made by prosecutors and defense attorneys. Specifically, the research question was about whether the strength of the eyewitness evidence, characteristics of eyewitnesses, and eyewitness memory factors have a bearing on plea bargaining outcomes.
The methodology used was a survey; participants consisted of 93 defense attorneys and 46 prosecutors from matched counties in California. No deception was used. The survey simply presented a set of scenarios and asked the participants to respond to those scenarios. The scenarios were hypothetical, not linked to any real life case. The two eyewitness variables included same versus cross-race identification,...
The
hypothetical scenarios were store robberies, and the participants were told that the only evidence used against the defendant was the eyewitness testimony. Essentially, the research attempts to investigate the existence of bias in the plea bargaining decision-making process, with tremendous implications for criminal justice.
Participants
The
recruitment of participants in this case is straightforward, as it includes attorneys who are listed as state prosecutors on the one hand, and defense attorneys practicing law in the same counties as the state prosecutors. A convenience sample was used. Solicitations were made via email and
telephone as well as regular mail. This is not an experimental research design, and therefore there is no need for deception or for telling the participants that the study is about anything other than what it is actually about. Characteristics of the participants vary with age, gender, and race. However, they all practice law in the same county. All participants need to be practicing attorneys because the study is designed to measure attorney behavior when faced with different types of eye witness testimony. Participants need to be in good professional standing with the state bar association, and needed to have felony trial experience. The research was funded in part by the United States Department of Justice, but there no partnering research organizations.
Materials
The survey was…
