Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2014
Publication Title
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
Publication Title (Abbreviation)
Psych. Pub. Pol'y & L.
Volume
20
First Page
212
Last Page
224
Abstract
Two studies provide empirical support for Thibaut and Walker’s (1978) theory that inquisitorial and adversarial dispute resolution systems are associated with different psychological values: the pursuit of truth and the pursuit of justice. Study 1 suggests that, in civil and criminal disputes, the adversarial system is perceived to produce less truth than it does justice, and less truth than does the inquisitorial system. Conversely, the inquisitorial system is perceived to produce less justice than it does truth, and less justice than does the adversarial system. Study 2 examines how legal outcomes moderate litigants’ perceptions of the truth and justice produced by these dispute resolution systems. Study 2 suggests that perceptions of the truth and justice provided by the adversarial system are highly sensitive to the outcome of the dispute, whereas perceptions of the truth and justice provided by the inquisitorial system are not affected by dispute outcomes. Implications for Thibaut and Walker’s theory are discussed.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/law0000009
Rights
© 2014 American Psychological Association
Faculty Biography
http://law.fsu.edu/our-faculty/profiles/sevier
Recommended Citation
Justin Sevier,
The Truth-Justice Tradeoff: Perceptions of Decisional Accuracy and Procedural Justice in Adversarial and Inquisitorial Legal Systems, 20
Psych. Pub. Pol'y & L.
212
(2014),
Available at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/articles/121
Comments
This is the author's accepted manuscript version of the article and may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record, which is available at the DOI provided above.