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29 S. Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 1 (2019-2020)
Hazing in the United States Military: A Psychology and Law Perspective

handle is hein.journals/scid29 and id is 5 raw text is: HAZING IN THE UNITED STATES MILITARY: A PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW PERSPECTIVE GREGORY S. PARKS* AND JASMINE BURGESS** ABSTRACT Hazing has been a persistent issue in a variety of contexts, institutions, and organizations. The United States military and quasi-military organizations are among them. Here, we contend that hazing -as a legal phenomenon- exists and persists for myriad reasons. Among those reasons are that perpetrators may struggle to engage in rational decision-making about hazing due to the presence of cognitive biases. As such, they make poor decisions in the face of limited information and contradictory evidence. We also explore a host of other factors that may play a role in hazing-related decision-making. I. INTRODUCTION The year 2017 was a defining one in how we, as a society, came to think of hazing. Universities around the country dealt with the aftermath of fraternity-related hazing deaths.1 Tim Piazza died in February at Pennsylvania State University and Maxwell Gruver died in September at Louisiana State University; the month of November saw the deaths of Florida State University student Andrew Coffey and Texas State University student Matthew Ellis.2 While the popular narrative is that collegiate fraternities and sororities are the main bastions of hazing, an array of other organizations and institutions are also engaged in the practice. Included among these is the military, where hazing has long been a tradition. For example, in 1874, the United States Congress passed the first statute to prevent hazing at the Naval Academy.' Since then, forty-four states have passed anti-hazing laws.4 Scholars and commentators have analyzed the law's contours vis-a-vis hazing. However, what may yield more fruit-at least with regards to finding workable solutions to address hazing-is to * Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law. * 2019 Wake Forest University School of Law JD Graduate. 1 Katie Reilly, 'Those Families are Changed Forever.' A Deadly Year in Fraternity Hazing Comes to Close, TIME MAG. (Dec. 21, 2017), http://time.com/5071813/fraternity-hazing-deaths-2017/. 2 Id. 3 Act of June 23, 1874, ch. 453, 18 Stat. 203 (1874) (codified as amended at 10 U.S.C.S. §8464 (2019)); A. Catherine Kendrick, Note, Ex Parte Barran: In Search of Standard Legislation for Fraternity Hazing Liability, 24 AM. J. TRIAL ADVOC. 407, 409 (2000). 4 See GREGORY S. PARKS, MAKING SENSE OF UNITED STATES ANTI-HAZING STATUTES - STATE BY STATE 1 (2018). The only states that do not have an anti-hazing law are Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Id.

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