Dr. Jameca CooperForensic Psychology Consultant, Emergence Psychological Services · Board Certified Counseling Psychologist and Forensic Psychology Consultant

Make ‘em stare harder💅🏾 #staring #misjudged #surprise #criminalpsychologist

19 May 2023 · 0 min

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In this brief video, Dr. Jameca Cooper, a criminal psychologist, recounts a recurring courtroom experience. As she walks into a criminal defense trial, observers—jurors, attorneys, and onlookers—immediately assume she is a family member, often guessing she is the defendant’s mother because of her appearance and demeanor. She proceeds past the family, takes her seat at the expert stand, and the crowd’s reaction shifts to surprise and confusion: “She’s an expert? How is she a doctor?” The clip highlights how visual cues and gendered expectations lead to misjudgment of professional roles in legal settings, underscoring implicit bias toward women and experts who do not fit stereotypical images.

This is how people look at me when I'm walking into court and I'm working on a criminal defense case. They look at me like, oh, look at her, she must be part of the family. I bet she's the mom. And then I keep walking past the family and go to the front and sit on the stand, and they realize, wait a minute, he— she— what? It's an expert? How the hell is she a doctor? And I'm looking at them like