Filicide: Gender Bias in California Defense Attorneys' Perception of Motive And Defense Strategies

Abstract

This study is the first of its kind to evaluate attorneys' perception of motive and defense strategies when presented with a fictional filicide case. A vignette-based survey was designed to elicit data regarding perception of motive and willingness to use various defenses. Participants were more likely to agree that jealousy and retaliation were motivating factors when the perpetrator was male, but agreed more strongly that mental illness was a motivating factor when the perpetrator was female. Male perpetrators were more likely to be encouraged to accept a 15-year prison term, while attorneys were more willing to use insanity and mistake as mitigating defenses when the offender was female. Gender of participants also affected the perception of motive and defense strategies used. Results suggest that female attorneys are more likely to use defenses aimed to negate mens rea and female defendants are more likely to be encouraged to use such a defense.

Key words:

• attorney
• criminal justice system
• defense
• filicide
• gender bias
• law
• motive