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a physical disability in order to mislead the jury. Wearing
nonprescriptive eyeglasses can be deceptive because jurors might
not be able to discern whether a defendant truly requires
eyeglasses,^19 and a defendant’s unnecessary use of eyeglasses
may subtly persuade the jury by playing upon one of society’s
most deeply rooted stereotypes: that wearing eyeglasses equates
to higher intelligence.^20 Additionally, the jury may never even
consider the motive behind the defendant’s use of such a prop.^21
Such intentional misdirection undermines the truth-seeking
principles of the judicial system.^22
Part I of this Note focuses on how the wearing of eyeglasses
significantly affects the way an individual is perceived and
briefly examines the influence of popular culture on the deeply
ingrained stereotype that wearing eyeglasses correlates to
increased intelligence. Part II analyzes the unofficial role of a
defendant’s appearance in the courtroom and discusses cases that
highlight the impact of a defendant’s appearance on criminal
(^19) See generally Brown, supra note 9, at 3 (discussing a controlled study
of jurors’ perceptions of eyeglasses); Alexander, supra note 9 (finding that
eyeglasses often “escape notice”).
(^20) See Åke Hellström & Joseph Tekle, Person Perception Through Facial
Photographs: Effects of Glasses, Hair, and Beard on Judgments of
Occupation and Personal Qualities, 24 EUR. J. SOC. PSYCHOL. 693, 695
(articulating that judgments about intelligence and success can be traced back
to the development of myopia caused by extensive schoolwork in childhood
days); see also Brown, supra note 9, at 3 (finding that eyeglasses have a
positive correlation to increased intelligence in juror perceptions of
defendants); Francine C. Jellesma, Do Glasses Change Children’s
Perceptions? Effects of Eyeglasses on Peer- and Self-Perception, EUR. J.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOL. 1, 5 (2012) (arguing that “the association
between eyeglasses and intelligence is part of the nerd stereotype” because
“almost 50% of the people think eyeglasses are part of the physical
appearance of nerds”).
(^21) Wolfgang Manz & Helmut E. Lueck, Influence of Wearing Glasses on
Personality Ratings: Crosscultural Validation of an Old Experiment, 27
PERCEPTUAL & MOTOR SKILLS 704, 704 (1968) (describing the wearing of
eyeglasses as “an irrelevant cue,” which may lead jurors to be unconsciously
persuaded by a defendant’s use of unnecessary eyeglasses).
(^22) See Franklin Strier, Making Jury Trials More Truthful, 30 U.C. DAVIS
L. REV. 95, 99 (1996) (“None of the trial’s functions are more central to its
legitimacy than the search for truth.”).