Seeking bail? Pray that the judges had a good lunch

Rulings by judges – in the matter of granting parole to prisoners, or perhaps bail in the Indian context – may be more arbitrary than previously thought, and may depend greatly on the judge's mood at the time, finds a new study.

It finds that judges are more likely to make favourable rulings just after a meal break; while the prisoner had better beware if the judge comes in looking tired at the end of a long day.

The study by researchers at Columbia University in New York was conducted in Israel and looked at 1,000 parole decisions made by eight judges over 50 days. Judges saw between 14 and 35 parole cases per day.

The researchers found that soon after a meal break they gave a favourable verdict up to 65 per cent of the time. But as the time passed, they were less and less likely to give parole.

The days were divided up into three sessions, punctuated first by a mid-morning snack, then a late lunch after a second session. Those prisoners who went before judges in the morning or just after a meal break were far more likely to be granted freedom then those who saw the judge at the end of the day.

According to Prof Jonathan Levav who led the researchers, the findings show that even experts are not immune to outside influences, and the study could hold for other kinds of decision making as well.