NEW YORK, June 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DOAR, the nation's leading trial consulting company, today released findings from its comprehensive study examining how political beliefs influence public attitudes in white-collar crime cases following the 2024 presidential election. The study revealed that traditional demographic predictors of juror behavior have been fundamentally disrupted by political polarization, with implications for jury selection and trial strategy in white-collar criminal matters.
Male Trump voters trusted the DOJ the most, and female Harris voters trusted them the least.
Whites trusted FBI agents to tell the truth significantly more than either Blacks or Latinos did.
Several significant demographic differences emerged between those who agreed with the statement.
A majority of respondents disagreed with this statement; however, notable differences in reactions to it were observed based on several characteristics.
Political Identity Often Drives Juror Attitudes: Political affiliation has become a powerful predictor of juror attitudes—sometimes more so than age, gender, or education—and is especially powerful when considered in conjunction with these factors. Traditional demographic juror profiling is no longer reliable on its own.
The Trust Paradox Challenges Binary Juror Profiling: Rather than holding pro-government versus pro-defense biases, most respondents split into "trusters" who believe in both corporate executives and the DOJ, versus "skeptics" who distrust both sides, defying traditional assumptions about juror favorability.
Age Still Matters, But Differently: Respondents age 55 and older showed less presumption of guilt and were more favorable to defendants, while younger respondents were more prosecution-friendly; however, political affiliation created significant variations within age groups.
Cryptocurrency and FCPA Cases Flip Age-Based Assumptions: In contrast to the broader pattern of older jurors favoring the defense seen in most of the survey, for cases involving cryptocurrency or FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) allegations, the most defense-sympathetic jurors were younger, male Trump voters without college degrees.
Partisan Polarization May Yield More Hung Juries: High levels of political polarization could increase the likelihood of hung juries in white-collar trials, especially in politically mixed jurisdictions.
"The landscape of white-collar litigation has fundamentally changed," said Dr. Ellen Brickman, Director at DOAR and author of the study. "Decisions about jury selection must now be more nuanced, more case-specific, and ideally based on case-specific empirical data. The binary thinking of pro-government versus pro-defense jurors no longer captures the complexity of modern jury pools."
DOAR's CEO, Paul Neale, adds, "As the government's priorities and enforcement trends continue to shift, it is important to understand what factors directly impact jurors' attitudes in white-collar criminal cases. The DOAR Research Center is committed to tracking and reporting on the critical factors impacting trial strategy in complex legal matters."
Download the full report for more insights, including a detailed analysis of demographic factors and specific recommendations for trial strategy in the current political climate.
About DOAR
DOAR is the nation's leading trial consulting company, providing critical insight and strategic advice to lawyers at top-tier law firms and major corporations involved in high-stakes, complex legal disputes.
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