You are a defense attorney defending a client against a murder charge. Your client is the former boyfriend of the victim, and it has been established by several witnesses that the breakup was not a pleasant one. Your client was identified as a suspect from the very beginning. During the trial, the prosecution presented a witness who claimed to overhear your client praying for forgiveness in his holding cell. The prosecution also presented the murder weapon, which was a softball bat with your client's fingerprint on the handle. Your client was convicted. You attempted to convince the jury that the presence of the fingerprints did not mean anything-it was his bat, after all, and he had used it in a softball game recently. You argued that the detectives investigating the murder suspected your client right away because he was the victim's ex-boyfriend, and accordingly, they automatically interpreted any evidence in a way that agreed with their suspicion. This is an example of:
A)cognitive dissonance.
B)selective information processing.
C)noble cause.
D)harmless error.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario exemplifies selective information processing, where the detectives may have focused on evidence that supported their initial suspicion (the client being the ex-boyfriend and a suspect) and disregarded or minimized evidence that could point away from him. This bias can lead to a tunnel vision effect in investigations.

You Are a Defense Attorney Defending a Client Against a Murder