Effective participation or passive acceptance: How can defendants participate more effectively in the court process?

Kirby, Amy and Jacobson, Jessica and Hunter, Gillian (2014) Effective participation or passive acceptance: How can defendants participate more effectively in the court process? Working Paper. Howard League for Penal Reform.

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a 20 month Economic and Social Research Council funded study into the public’s experiences of the Crown Court. The aim of the study was to examine victims ’ , witnesses ’ and defendants ’ (court users ’ ) levels of understanding and perceptions of the treatment they received at the Crown Court , and to assess the extent to which they regard court processes and outcomes as fair and legitimate. The study also explored the nature of the interplay between the different players – including legal professionals and court users – in the courtroom. There were three strands to the research: interviews with criminal justice professionals and practitioners, interviews with court users and obs ervations. A key finding that emerged through the research was the apparent limit of defendants’ ‘effective participation’ at court. This issue is the focus of the paper.

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