Punishing Processes in Youth Court: Procedural Justice, Court Atmosphere and Youths' Views of the Legitimacy of the Justice System

• NCJ Number: 232661
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 52 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2010 Pages: 527-544
• Author(s): Carolyn Greene; Jane B. Sprott; Natasha S. Madon; Maria Jung
• Date Published: October 2010
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: French; English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This study examined the effect of courtroom atmosphere on a defendant's perception of the fairness of the criminal justice system.

Abstract

For those who are negotiating their way through court, there are potentially many aspects of the courtroom atmosphere that can be perceived as unpleasant. Moreover, issues arising from general delays, confusion, and unprofessional conduct may be related to broader evaluations of the entire justice system, independently of how fairly people feel that they, personally, were treated by specific court actors. The authors explored this by interviewing youths after their first court appearance and by independently coding the overall atmosphere of the courtroom. They found that, independently of how fairly youths felt they themselves had been treated, the atmosphere of the courtroom was significantly related to their overall assessments of the legitimacy of the criminal justice system. Those who experienced an atmosphere of confusion and unprofessionalism tended to view the entire justice system as less legitimate than did those who experienced better days. Tables and references (Published Abstract)