New study finds looks matter in the courtroom

Research undertaken at the University of Illinois gathered data on more than 1,000 US court cases and obtained photos and courtroom videos of the attorney involved.

The lawyers were then rated on their attractiveness. Those perceived as more attractive had enjoyed consistently higher success rates. Attractive women tended to receive a slightly higher advantage – especially before male judges.

The study, entitled Justice Isn’t Blind, appeared in the Journal of Law and Courts.

Author of the study, Nicholas Waterbury, told the PsyPost website that the findings were concerning.

He said: “I consider the main takeaway to be that judges are people too.

“When judges are overburdened with work they rely on some of the same mental shortcuts the rest of us use.

“Researchers have shown in many settings that attractive individuals have advantages over less attractive counterparts. This research suggests when judges need to quickly evaluate an attorney’s argument they extend the same attractiveness advantage as everyone else.”