Stereotype as an Obstruction to Justice and Its Influence on a Judge While Consideration of a Criminal Proceeding

Abstract

Consideration by a judge of criminal cases is closely related to the formation of internal conviction, which, in turn, is influenced by numerous factors, including internal psychological ones. One of them is the phenomenon of stereotyping, inherent to every person as a component of human social nature. The Article Purpose is to analyze the phenomenon of stereotype, its historical development, and study into the influence of the stereotyping process on the judge while consideration of criminal cases. To fulfil the specified goal, a systematic approach was chosen out of general scientific and special scientific methods, among which the most widely used are: historical-legal, formal-legal, and systemic-structural. Significance of the stereotyping phenomenon for society as a whole and for an individual in particular has been also analyzed, its influence on a judge’s internal perception of the defendant and case circumstances, as well as its impact on evidence evaluation in a criminal proceeding. The influence of various types of stereotypes on perception by a judge of a person brought to criminal responsibility (depending on his/her gender, race, or nationality) has been studied, along with racial bias during consideration of criminal cases (depending on crime type). It has been proven that a deeply-rooted stereotype can influence the development of a judge’s internal conviction, and therefore, evaluation of evidence in a case, the decision on a person’s guilt (innocence), determination of punishment, etc. It has been highlighted that stereotyping during administration of criminal cases by a judge negatively affects the judge’s impartiality and may provoke discrimination against parties in a criminal proceeding, which is inadmissible.