The lack of representation in the courtroom for Black Americans is a prevalent issue that contributes to race-based sentencing disparities. There are many assumed reasons why sentencing or determinations of guilt may be harsher for Black Americans compared to White Americans. Systemic racism, as well as potential bias among judges and jurors, may heavily impact the outcome of a case for a minority defendant. In addition to these institutional dynamics, individuals' political ideologies and racial attitudes shape how courtroom processes and outcomes are perceived and evaluated. By compiling findings on perceptions and realities of racial disparities by courtroom role-judge and jury-this study develops a clearer understanding of the moving parts in the courtroom and the contribution they have in producing racial inequities in the justice system. Using a mock trial survey experiment, this project tests whether respondents perceive less racial bias in the judicial system when there is greater racial diversity among judges and jurors. It further examines how ideological orientation and racial attitudes influence these perceptions, particularly whether individuals interpret courtroom diversity as indicative of fairness or as insufficient to address systemic bias. Additionally, this project investigates how respondents evaluate the guilt or innocence of Black defendants under varying racial compositions of judges and jurors, and how these judgments are conditioned by respondents' ideological beliefs and underlying racial attitudes. By incorporating both institutional context and individual-level predispositions, this study provides a more comprehensive account of how perceptions of bias and legal decision-making contribute to persistent racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
