RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE ORIGINAL AND REVISED LEGAL ATTITUDES QUESTIONNAIRE

The Legal Attitudes Questionnaire (LAQ) predicts juror bias, but there is little evidence concerning its reliability and construct validity. Two studies provide such evidence for two versions of the LAQ. In Stu dy 1 a questionnaire containing both versions of the LAQ, measures of related and unrelated constructs, and demographic questions was comple ted by 294 undergraduates. In Study 2 a shortened questionnaire was co mpleted by 102 jury-eligible adults. In both studies, the revised vers ion of the LAQ was superior to the original LAQ in terms of missing da ta, internal reliability, and construct validity. A refined version of the revised scale is presented, evaluated, and recommended for future use.