Metaphors judges live by: ‘dirty minds’ and the ‘fear of contamination’ in the new criminal justice system in Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Adriana Alfaro Altamirano
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
National Context ◽  
Judicial Practice ◽  
George Lakoff ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
New System

Abstract In this paper, I take George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's thesis that metaphors shape our reality to approach the judicial imagery of the new criminal justice system in Mexico (in effect since 2016). Based on twenty-nine in-depth interviews with judges and other members of the judiciary, I study what I call the ‘dirty minds’ metaphor, showing its presence in everyday judicial practice and analysing both its cognitive basis as well as its effects in how criminal judges understand their job. I argue that the such a metaphor, together with the ‘fear of contamination’ it raises as a result, is misleading and goes to the detriment of the judicial virtues that should populate the new system. The conclusions I offer are relevant beyond the national context, inter alia, because they concern a far-reaching paradigm of judgment.

scholarly journals Alternative sanctions and measures in the criminal justice system of Slovenia

Temida ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alenka Selih
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Juvenile Offenders ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Personal Factor ◽  
Judicial Practice ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Alternative Sanctions

The paper presents the ways of introducing both material and procedural alternative measures into the criminal justice system of Slovenia from the beginning of 1990s, particularly into the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure in 1995 (with the further amendments). That relates to both adult and juvenile offenders. Regarding implementation, the author emphasizes characteristics of the implementation of both groups of institutions; pays attention to the fact that procedural institutions are more important for prosecution of minor criminal offences; points out the importance of the personal factor that contributes to the implementation of new provisions; and gives an overview of the first experiment in the Slovenian judiciary related to that. The author gives an analysis of problems dealt with in the Slovenian doctrine and judicial practice in connection with alternative ways of proceeding; she points out, in particular, the imperfections of legal solutions; the unclear competences in implementation of alternative sanctions and problems resulting from such a situation.

scholarly journals Trust Toward the Criminal Justice System Among Swedish Roma: A Mixed-Methodology Approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 215336872093040
Author(s):  
Simon Wallengren ◽  
Anders Wigerfelt ◽  
Berit Wigerfelt ◽  
Caroline Mellgren
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Mixed Methodology ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
System 2 ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Depth Interviews

Minority populations’ trust toward the criminal justice system is understudied in many parts of Europe, including Sweden. This article will contribute to this field by examining the trust in the criminal justice system among the Roma community in Sweden. The aim of the study was to (1) estimate the Roma community’s trust toward the criminal justice system, (2) examine what factors influence the community’s trust toward the criminal justice system, and (3) analyze whether trust toward the authorities influences the Roma community’s willingness to report victimization. The study used a mixed-methodology design in combining survey data ( n = 610) with in-depth interviews ( N = 30). The findings show that the respondents have a low level of trust in the criminal justice system authorities. According to the regression analysis, the strongest predictor of trust was shown to be explained by the respondent’s perception of procedural unfairness. Qualitative findings supported these results while also highlighting cultural effects and historical processes that explain the community’s lack of trust. Finally, trust in the authorities seems to be an important factor that influences crime reporting.

scholarly journals Unravelling the ‘crimmigration knot’: Penal subjectivities, punishment and the censure machine

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Di Molfetta ◽  
Jelmer Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Border Control ◽  
Foreign National ◽  
Migration Policies ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Hybrid Forms

This article explores the challenges that (cr)immigration practices pose to draw the boundaries of punishment by examining foreign national prisoners’ penal subjectivities. More exclusionary and draconian migration policies have blurred the boundaries between border control and crime control, creating hybrid forms of punishment that, even if officially claimed as measures outside the criminal justice realm, inflict pain and communicate censure. Drawing on 37 in-depth interviews with foreign national prisoners facing expulsion in the Dutch penitentiary facility of Ter Apel, we detail how hybrid (cr)immigration practices are capable of imposing and delivering meanings that go well behind rooted significances and aims of administrative measures. Traditionally designed with preventive purposes, administrative measures have now become part of a project of social exclusion and reaffirmation of the worth of citizenship. This circumstance raises problematic questions for the legitimacy of the criminal justice system in dealing with non-citizens.

scholarly journals Human trafficking for criminal exploitation: Effects suffered by victims in their passage through the criminal justice system

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Villacampa ◽  
Núria Torres
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Victim Assistance ◽  
Criminal Exploitation ◽  
Depth Interviews

The victim-centred approach to human trafficking emphasises the protection of victims and respect for their rights. For this protection to be effective, victims must be treated as such in their passage through the criminal justice system, which can be complex with forms of trafficking that are still relatively unknown, such as trafficking for criminal exploitation. Based on 37 in-depth interviews with Spanish practising criminal justice and victim assistance services professionals, this paper analyses the effects that the failure to identify these types of victims has on them as they make their way through the criminal justice system, paying particular attention to the degree to which the aforementioned professionals recognise the principle of non-punishment.

scholarly journals Gender and Financialization of the Criminal Justice System

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
Lisa Servon ◽  
Ava Esquier ◽  
Gillian Tiley
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
System 2 ◽  
Depth Interviews

(1) The increase in women’s mass incarceration over the past forty years raises questions about how justice-involved women experience the financial aspects of the criminal justice system. (2) We conducted in-depth interviews with twenty justice-involved women and seven criminal law and reentry professionals, and conducted courtroom observations in southeastern Pennsylvania. (3) The results from this exploratory research reveal that women’s roles as caregivers, their greater health needs, and higher likelihood of being poor creates barriers to paying fines and fees and exacerbates challenges in reentry. (4) These challenges contribute to a cycle of prolonged justice involvement and financial instability.

scholarly journals Nigerian Criminal Justice System and Victims of Crime Neglect in Enugu Urban

2020 ◽  
pp. 41-53
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Elastic Limit ◽  
Crime Victims ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Depth Interviews

As essentialareaof criminology, crime victims have really never been accorded due recognition in Nigeria. It is in this regard that this paper discusses the Nigerian criminal justice system and the issue of victim neglect in Enugu urban. Using qualitative and quantitative research approaches, a sample of 604 respondents were drawn from Enugu urban. Multi-stage and purposive sampling techniques were used to reach the respondents. Data from both questionnaires andin-depth interviews were collected. We found that most crime victims are highly neglected and there is a lack of cordial relationship between the police and crime victims in Enugu urban. The study recommends the need to consider civil aspect of cases whenpassing judgments so that crime victims would not lose on two folds, but get partially compensated for their losses. The study also calls for judges to speed up adjudication processes in order not to draw cases to elastic limit where crime victims lose faith in the criminal justice system.

An Analysis of a Lay Adjudication System and Open Judiciary

2017 ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Yumiko Kita
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Concepts Of Democracy ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
Late Twentieth Century ◽  
New System

This paper presents analyses of impacts of lay adjudicators' participation in criminal matters in Japan due to the introduction of the new lay adjudication system – the Citizen Judge System [Saiban-in Seido] – in 2009. Since the late twentieth century, the introduction of the lay adjudication system seems to have been in international movement democratising the criminal justice system. This paper is devoted to an evaluation of the new system in terms of the balance between the concepts of democracy and a fair trial with consideration of the citizen judge procedures and the role of the citizen judges. In view of the closed nature of the Japanese criminal procedures and secrecy in the citizen judge system, this study will point out the challenges which prevent the fulfilment of democratic values in the practice of the citizen judge system.

Bridging the Gap Between Prosecutors' Cases and Victims' Biographies in the Criminal Justice System Through Shared Emotions

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (02) ◽  
pp. 257-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Goodrum
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Limited Effect ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Union County ◽  
Shared Emotions ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

Research on victims' encounters with prosecutors suggests that victims' rights have had a limited effect on victims' satisfaction with the criminal justice system. This study examines the victim-prosecutor relationship with a focus on people who have lost a loved one to murder. The emotional tone dimension of Carol Heimer's case versus biography analysis proves helpful for explaining the gaps between prosecutors' responsibilities and victims' expectations. The data come from in-depth interviews with thirty-five participants, including twenty victims, three crime victims' advocates, and twelve criminal court professionals in Union County (pseudonym). The findings indicate that shared emotions (e.g., sadness, anger) represent a key mechanism for (1) connecting victims to prosecutors (and individuals to organizations) and (2) improving victims' experiences with the criminal justice system. Although victims' rights do not guarantee the opportunity for shared emotions, prosecutors often honored victims' desire for a close relationship and considered their input on case decisions.

A Feminist Law Meets an Androcentric Criminal Justice System: Gender-Based Violence in Spain

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-96
Author(s):  
Pilar Albertín Carbó ◽  
Jenny Cubells ◽  
Maria Carmen Peñaranda ◽  
Luz María Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Psychological Violence ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Negative Stereotyping ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article discusses how practices in the Spanish criminal justice system relate to Organic Law 1/2004 on measures against gender-based violence. We examine the predominant construction of the problem and the secondary victimization1 of women. Data were collected from two sources: participant observation at police victim support units and courts dealing with violence against women,2 and in-depth interviews with abused women and legal and psychosocial professionals. Our analysis has uncovered a lack of institutional resources for detecting psychological violence and negative stereotyping of female victims. We conclude that a gender perspective should be incorporated into criminal justice system practices.

Mexico's new justice system will need work

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Municipal Level ◽  
New System

Subject Mexico's new criminal justice system is coming to the end of its transition period. Significance The eight-year transition of Mexico's paper-based, inquisitorial system of criminal justice to an oral, adversarial one is due to be completed by June 18. The aim is to increase transparency, expediency and the quality of justice. However, key elements of the reform are missing, particularly regarding alternative justice and mediation mechanisms, and President Enrique Pena Nieto said in his third state-of-the-nation address last September that 40% of the country had yet to implement the new system. Impacts Experience and human and technical resource disparities in the criminal justice system will fuel doubts about its operability. Police ineffectiveness at the state and municipal level may exacerbate public perceptions that the new system is soft on crime. Success will depend on the authorities' commitment to monitoring implementation and performance.

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