Bikers Against Child Abuse Impacting Jury Decisionmaking?

Bikers Against Child Abuse Inc. (BACA) was created to create a safer environment for abused children. BACA works with authorized referring agencies that recommend a child that is still frightened by their environment due to their abuse. BACA reaches out to the family and will ride to meet the child at their home. The child receives a vest, is given a biker name, and two BACA members become their primary contact. They become part of their biker “gang” and are available to this child for support 24/7 to make sure the child feels safe. BACA can escort the child when they feel scared, drive by their home on a regular basis, and in one of the most scary parts of their lives, they are there –  they attend their trial in support of the child victim.

Now, what child wouldn’t want an entire group of intimidating bikers in their corner when having to face their abuser in court? But does the presence of these bikers (who wear their vests to court) also impact the jury and their decisionmaking?

While there is not much study on how jurors are impacted by family of victims being the courtroom or spectators as a distraction, there are studies have shown that something as simple as clothing can impact how a juror can decide guilt or innocence. The influence of appearance is so important that an entire industry as emerged on how to dress as a lawyer, plaintiff and defendant. The idea now is to wear what you would to a business meeting and for the defendant to “look as much like everybody else as possible” so they are humanized with a degree of anonymity. This appearance gives the jurors a blank slate to work with.

If this is the case, it’s possible that a victim testifying in court that comes in or sits near/around a large group of men and women in biker vests providing comfort to the victim could distract the jury from the testimony being presented, but also form opinions on the idea of guilt on the defendant. A juror may think “if these big bikers are supporting this victim, they must believe the defendant is guilty” and it makes a memorable and impactful impression on everyone.

However, juror’s implicit bias when it comes to attitudes toward bikers or biker “gangs” may come into play in the case, when it never would have appeared before. Let’s be honest, it’s difficult to ignore a group of large bikers in a courtroom.

If jurors have had negative or positive experiences with bikers in their life, bias can come into play in determining guilt or innocence of a defendant that likely has no affiliation to any biker. Implicit bias comes from association between particular social groups (bikers) and particular qualities (like “good”, “bad”, “scary”, “protective”). This influence can have a discriminatory response, and play into a case that has nothing to do with bikers. Just as the simple presence of a group of bikers can bring assurance and sense of safety to the child and (let’s be honest) intimidate the defendant, it could also impact juror decisionmaking.