ABSTRACT
The courts, legal practitioners, scholars, and social scientists have long recognized that judges’ behavior, both verbal and nonverbal, may have important effects on trial processes and jury outcomes (Blanck, Rosenthal, & Cordell, 1985). For example, appellate courts have cautioned repeatedly that juries in criminal trials accord even the most subtle nonverbal behaviors of the judge great weight and deference. One judge concluded that juries “can be easily influenced by the slightest suggestion coming from the court, whether it be a nod of the head, a smile, a frown, or a spoken word” (State v. Wheat, 1930).
