Abstract
Previous studies suggest a significant role of language in the court room, yet none has identified a definitive correlation between vocal characteristics and court outcomes. This paper demonstrates that voice-based snap judgments based solely on the introductory sentences of lawyers arguing in front of the Supreme Court of the United States predict outcomes in the Court. In this study, participants rated the opening statement of male advocates arguing before the Supreme Court between 1998 and 2012 in terms of masculinity, attractiveness, confidence, intelligence, trustworthiness, and aggressiveness. We found significant correlation between vocal characteristics and court outcomes and the correlation is specific to perceived masculinity even when judgment of masculinity is based only on less than three seconds of exposure to a lawyer’s speech sample. Specifically, male advocates are more likely to win when they are perceived as less masculine. No other personality dimension predicts court outcomes. While this study does not aim to establish any causal connections, our findings suggest that vocal characteristics may be relevant in even as solemn a setting as the Supreme Court of the United States.
Highlights
Voice-based first impressions can be formed rapidly with very brief exposure and such impressions often are associated with subsequent behavior of the perceiver [5,6,7]
Previous studies suggest a significant role for linguistic cues in the court room [12, 14, 15], yet none has identified a definitive connection between voice perceptions and actual court outcomes
The recordings and the associated transcripts were made available to the public in electronically downloadable format by the Oyez Project, which is a multimedia archive at the Chicago-Kent College of Law devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work
Summary
Voice-based first impressions can be formed rapidly with very brief exposure (less than half a second of speech [1,2,3,4]) and such impressions often are associated with subsequent behavior of the perceiver [5,6,7]. Researchers have demonstrated how vocal perception influences the communication process [13], it remains unclear whether such influences find resonances in a communicative setting like oral arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), where subtle biases have consequences for major policy outcomes. Previous studies suggest a significant role for linguistic cues in the court room [12, 14, 15], yet none has identified a definitive connection between voice perceptions and actual court outcomes.
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