NCJ Number
177488
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 1999 Pages: 216-239
Date Published
1999
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Recognizing recent legal reforms requiring victim input into sentencing decisions have been controversial, this study used qualitative strategies to study the perspectives of legal professionals in South Australia and their experiences with the effects of victim input on sentencing processes and outcomes.
Abstract
Data were obtained from in-depth interviews with 42 members of the legal profession, including justices, judges, magistrates, Crown and police prosecutors, and defense lawyers. The purpose of interviews was to shed light on the handling of victim input by legal professionals and how they assessed, processed, weighed, listened to, and incorporated victim impact information in their decisions. The interview schedule included open-ended questions about the content and quality of victim input, whether information on victim harm increased since the victim impact statement (VIS) was introduced, and perceptions of VIS effects on sentencing. The interview schedule also sought opinions of legal professionals about the role of victims in the criminal justice process. Several themes in legal occupational culture, as well as organizational forces and dynamics, emerged as explanations for the minor impact of victim input on sentencing processes and outcomes. Interviews with legal professionals highlighted the way in which both mundane and dramatic victim harm was involved in sentencing considerations and the manner in which victim harm mediated case presentation, argumentation, and defense tactics. Various strategies were used by legal professionals to maintain their autonomous status, to circumvent external demands to consider victim input, and to justify overlooking concrete presentations of victim harm. 76 references and 1 table