Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP11116
Authors: Randi Hjalmarsson; Shamena Anwar; Patrick Bayer
Abstract: This paper uses an original data set of more than 3000 cases from 1918 to 1926 in the Central Criminal Courts of London to study the effect of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919. Implemented in 1921, this Act made females eligible to serve on English juries, providing a novel setting for studying the impact of female representation on jury verdicts. Results based on a pre-post research design imply that the inclusion of females had little effect on overall conviction rates but resulted in a large and significant increase in convictions for sex offenses and on the conviction rate differential between violent crime cases with female versus male victims. The inclusion of women also increased the likelihood of juries being discharged without reaching a verdict on all charges and the average time taken to reach a verdict. A complementary analysis of cases in which the jury was carried over from a previous trial also implies that the inclusion of female jurors on the seated jury sharply increased conviction rates for violent crimes against women versus men.
Keywords: female jurors; criminal convictions; gender representation; jury verdicts; sex offenses
JEL Codes: K41; J16; H52
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Sex Disqualification Removal Act of 1919 (J16) | inclusion of female jurors (J16) |
| inclusion of female jurors (J16) | overall conviction rates (K14) |
| inclusion of female jurors (J16) | conviction rates for sex offenses (K14) |
| inclusion of female jurors (J16) | conviction rates for violent crimes (K14) |
| inclusion of female jurors (J16) | likelihood of juries being discharged without reaching a verdict (K41) |
| inclusion of female jurors (J16) | average time taken to reach a verdict (K41) |