Performing Judicial Authority in the Lower Courts

Description

Judicial authority is constituted by everyday practices of individual judicial officers, balancing the obligations of formal law and procedure with the distinctive interactional demands of lower courts. Performing Judicial Authority in the Lower Courts draws on extensive original, independent empirical data to identify different ways judicial officers approach and experience their work. It theorizes the meanings of these variations for the legitimate performance of judicial authority. The central theoretical and empirical finding presented in this book is the incomplete fit between conventional norms of judicial performance, emphasizing detachment and impersonality, and the practical, day-to-day judicial work in high volume, time-pressured lower courts. Understanding the judicial officer as the crucial link between formal abstract law, the legal institution of the court and the practical tasks of the courtroom, generates a more complete theory of judicial legitimacy which includes the manner in which judicial officers present themselves and communicate their decisions in court.

Sharyn Roach Anleu is is Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor in the School of Social and Policy Studies at Flinders University, Adelaide, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. She has published widely on sociology of law, deviance and social control, and gender in the legal profession. Kathy Mack is an Emerita Professor in the Flinders Law School at Flinders University, Australia. She is the author of a monograph, book chapters and articles on alternative dispute resolution, and articles on legal education and evidence. With her co-author, Sharyn Roach Anleu, she has also conducted empirical research involving plea negotiations.

"Original, authoritative and scholarly, Performing Judicial Authority in the Lower Courts by Sharyn Roach Anleu and Kathy Mack is an essential text for law, socio-legal and criminology students. But it is also recommended as a most informative and enjoyable read for everyone else interested in law, politics and social justice." (Pat Carlen, The British Journal of Criminology, October, 2017) "The book is very well written, clearly organised and remarkably free of jargon and legalise. Hence, it would be readily accessible not only to students, lawyers, researchers and judicial officers themselves, but also to general readers. ... For those of a more scholarly bent, a detailed description of the methodology is included in an appendix." (Margaret Thornton, Flinders Law Journal, Vol. 19, 2017) "This is a very readable book that is easy to follow and digest and that adds a behind-the-scenes look at how judicial performances are crafted and performed. I would highly recommend it for readers interested in a symbolic interactionist view of the courtroom performances of judicial officers. ... The book is thus aimed at a wide audience and would appeal beyond the immediate field of socio-legal studies into sociology, criminology, sociology of law, and sociology of professions." (Lisa Flower, Symbolic Interaction, 2017)