THE NERD DEFENSE 751
chooses to wear contacts rather than eyeglasses to trial has not
falsely represented a handicap. The real problem lies in
concocting a handicap that brings with it such powerful social
stereotypes. Richard Waites, the Chief Executive of a jury
consulting firm, observes that “[j]urors expect to see defendants
wearing [nice shirts and ties],” but “[j]urors don’t expect to see
defendants wearing glasses if they don’t have to.”^127 Eyeglasses
are now one of the world’s most popular fashion accessories,^128
viewed as possessing the unique power to “transform you like
no other accessory.”^129 Defense attorneys have taken note of this
pop-culture trend and are increasingly employing the nerd
defense as a courtroom tactic.^130
A. Studies Concerning the Effect of Eyeglasses on Jurors’
PerceptionsIn one analysis of a study conducted in 2008, psychologist
Michael J. Brown examined the social-cognitive processes
involved when individuals make decisions, attributions, and
judgments.^131 In Brown’s study, 220 students were presented
with a portfolio containing the vignette of a fictitious trial
involving a violent crime, the defendant’s photograph and
physical description, and a survey asking the reader to render a
shined shoes,” which are not deceptive). Although eyeglasses are being
increasingly worn as fashion accessories, their original purpose was to correct
for an eye defect. Leder et al., supra note 24, at 211 (“The primary use of
eyeglasses is their ability to correct congenital or acquired vision deficits such
as myopia, presbyopia, or astigmatism.”).
(^127) Alexander, supra note 9.
(^128) Leder et al., supra note 24, at 211; Joel Stein, The TIME 100 Most
Influential Things in the World, TIME (Apr. 21, 2011),
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_206658
4_2066602-3,00.html (ranking “nerd glasses” as the 74th most influential
thing in the world).
(^129) Davies, supra note 119.
(^130) Tillman, supra note 5; Debra Cassens Weiss, Instruction on Slaying
Defendant’s New Eyeglasses at Issue on Appeal, A.B.A. J. (Sept. 14, 2012,
8:52 AM), http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/instruction_onslaying
defendants_new_eyeglasses_at_issue_on_appeal/.
(^131) Brown, supra note 9, at 1.