NCJ Number
137251
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1991) Pages: 421-446
Date Published
1991
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The United States Supreme Court's citations of social science research in capital punishment cases were studied using information from the U.S. Supreme Court decisions handed down between 1963 and 1985.
Abstract
These years mark the beginning of the Court's modern decisions regarding the death penalty and extend to the approximate midpoint in this jurisprudence. The frequency and major correlates of social science research citations in these death penalty cases was examined and contrasted with the justices' use of social science evidence in other types of criminal cases. Results revealed that the Court has made extensive use of this research in its death penalty cases, using it more than in many other types of criminal cases. However, the social science citations were preponderant in dissenting opinions in the death penalty cases. In addition, with a few important exceptions, the justices found ways to neutralize or ignore the logical implications of the social science findings in case decisions. Nevertheless, the Court has not completely disregarded social science research on the death penalty as shown by the changes in capital punishment jurisprudence over the study period, particularly the changes resulting from the 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia. Tables, footnotes, appended tables and case list, and 64 references (Author abstract modified)