Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

10-25-2005

SSRN Discipline

Legal Scholarship Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Litigation, Procedure & Dispute Resolution eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Public Law & Legal Theory

Abstract

We are all familiar with common stereotypes based on gender and race and we are well aware that such stereotypes have the potential to impact fairness and justice Recent psychological research has demonstrated that such stereotyping long believed to be conscious and intentional exists at an unconscious level Thus individuals who believe themselves unbiased may nevertheless possess unconscious biases affecting their interactions their responses their reactions and their perceptions A common result of stereotyping and a feature employed in these recent psychological studies is the creation of dichotomies such as goodbad which substitute for actual evaluation and analysis Thus instead of viewing someone as a complex whole complete with inconsistencies and ambiguities stereotyping permits instant slottingpeople are slotted into little mental boxes and ascribed particular characteristics and qualities without examination reflection or analysis These snap judgments of course are often wrong If left unchecked these biases can result in erroneous and unfair impressions and in the legal system can result in injustice In addition to the injustices that can result from discrimination based on gender race ethnicity color national origin religion age disability socioeconomic status and sexual orientation there is another less familiar form of discrimination based on origin Ruralism involves discrimination on the basis of factors stemming from living in a rural area Indeed ruralism is a pervasive form of discrimination largely unrecognized unacknowledged and unexamined and one often impacting most harshly those individuals who already are subject to other forms of discrimination based on gender socioeconomic status and race Like other forms of discrimination ruralism employs stereotypes These rural stereotypes as is true of other stereotypes fall within a dichotomous desirableundesirable pattern Rural places are desirable indeed idealized and romanticized rural dwellers are undesirable indeed denigrated and ridiculed This dichotomy might be primarily only of sociological interest were it not for the fact that this same dichotomy is demonstrable in the legal arena as well As this Article demonstrates ruralism is not merely another type of bias ruralism impacts laws lawyers arguments and court decisions in predictable and illegitimate ways

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