During a trial began, a judge cry after having taken note of the very rough pictures, which showed the sexual abuse of small children. Hen was forced to suspend the hearing and take a break, and did not understand what happened. ”I thought I could put feelings to the side but I started to cry. I was not able to do it and I had to take a break”, told the judge later.
the Hen is one of close to a hundred judges and prosecutors, as the sociologists Stina Bergman Blix and Åsa Wettergren met during their extensive research on the theme of ‘ Emotions in the courtroom”. During the four years observed the more than 300 court hearings, and the results of their work are collected in the recently published book ”Professional emotions in court”.
in a Swedish court needs judges and prosecutors are perceived as neutral and objective. Traditionally associated this with an apparent absence of emotions, it is about not having a my reveal of what is in the interior and, instead, put on a ”stenansikte”.
During the four and a half years of training, get the prospective lawyers learn not to talk about their emotions. They are trained in a culture where feelings are taboo for a professional prosecutor or judge, ” says Åsa Wettergren, who is a professor at Gothenburg university.
Read more: Quotes from lawyers about the emotions in the courtroom
Her and Stina Bergman Blix however, research suggests that feelings and känslohantering, in fact, is central to the implementation of an impartial trial. For example, if a judge should be able to prevent a defendant or a plaintiff gets too emotional, they need to have a sense for how these people perceive the situation.
with emotions in an environment where emotions whatsoever not to be? The ritual of a courtroom, which is guided by the code of judicial procedure, is about who and who is allowed to speak, and when. This also means that it does not leave room for unexpected events, and all strong emotions must be toned down.
– The whose emotion is assumed to have toned down in the courtroom are the plaintiff, defendant and witnesses, because the professional has learned to communicate emotions with very subtle means, ” says Stina Bergman Blix, who is associate professor at Uppsala university.
Stina Bergman Blix (left), Åsa Wettergren and their book ”Professional emotions in court”. Photo: Private
the Feelings are all important in the interaction between people, she continues. Even when the professional legal actors do not show any emotions openly, so they use yet a kind of emotional communication to take stock of the situations and common bring the trial forward.
– It is a tacit knowledge that the judges and the other professional actors acquire through experience, says Åsa Wettergren.
concentrated, she and Stina Bergman Blix on something they call ”bakgrundsemotioner”, that is to say, feelings that are not so visible as, for example, crying.
defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges need to use bakgrundsemotionerna to do their job, they need to feel the interest to take in information or be proud to implement a proper process, ” says Åsa Wettergren.
It comes to be able to live in when a witness or an accused trembles for fear, but for the sake of compromising on objectivity and impartiality during the trial.
She and Stina Bergman Blix talking about the clear expression of feelings, as visible outrage, anger and tears. All recognize this. But then there is expression which is much more difficult to detect.
– when a prosecutor after a hearing asked if we noticed how angry the judge was. We stood there as a living question mark and understood nothing. Later on, after having been through a series of negotiations, we had learned to interpret the känslospel that can occur in the courts, ” says Stina Bergman Blix.
It is, for example, that the judge put down his pen on the table a little extra clear, leaning back in the chair, raised eyebrows, or looking up at the ceiling. Prosecutors and defense attorneys perceive immediately the signal. It can be a direct invitation to them to quit bitching and get to the point.
is, however, not as a law professional talking so much about. On the other hand, many judges in the two researchers ‘ interviews that the needed empathy to be able to put themselves into other people’s situation.
“It is important to be able to live in when a witness or an accused trembles for fear, but for the sake of compromising on objectivity and impartiality during the trial,” says Stina Bergman Blix.
She has previously studied the actor’s way of working. At a dinner she ended up next to a judge and told him about his research, about how the actors use their emotions as a tool to reach out to the audience and appear credible.
– It is just so we are also working, told the judge at my side. I was quite amazed because I had that image of the objective and impartial, the judge not showing any emotion in the courtroom. Later, I met Åsa, and on the train on the way to a conference, the idea was born to research on emotions in the courtroom.
interested in bureaucratic organizations where emotions are assumed to be excluded in the professional work. She conducted a study on one of the Migration departments for the processing of asylum cases.
– Where should the ads appear frequently, but are still aware that the feelings are beneath the surface. However, they have no language to deal with this gap, no arena to talk about feelings. There occurs a collision between the professional role and the strong emotionerna in the job, ” says Åsa Wettergren.
In a Swedish courtroom, the judge should control the process in the right direction and not let themselves be influenced by others. But there has to be interaction with the other actors.
Also, prosecutors and judges working intuitively with the emotions, but speaks rarely or never with colleagues about this. There should be a common sight in these issues and a common knowledge base on emotions relevant for maintaining this objective, the events in the rättssalarna, according to Åsa Wettergren and Stina Bergman Blix.
In the book, the authors write also about the ”teflonkultur” which, according to them, prevails in the English courts, and in åklagarkamrarna.
– Sometimes can be very dramatic events and experiences as part of a preliminary investigation. But the handling of the emotions that is needed at such times to be silenced and individualized. Of a professional actor is expected all the emotions just run off, ” says Stina Bergman Blix.
at the same time, most of the judges and prosecutors that she and Åsa Wettergren talked with the experienced situations where they have not been able to manage their emotions. Or where, for example, an unpleasant image stuck on the retina long after the trial was over.
the stronger the feelings of the plaintiff or defendant is proved, the less emotion they showed professional. But when the referee shows a stenansikte it can be interpreted as arrogance or indifference to the defendants.
– In a Swedish courtroom, the judge should control the process in the right direction and not let themselves be influenced by others. But there has to be interaction with the other actors, the various parties are dependent on each other for work to run smoothly.
Judges can become angry when, for example, the defence counsel will not stop a defendant who constantly interrupts and disrupts. If a judge is forced to call upon the accused to remain silent, he may take it that the hen does not receive an objective and fair treatment.
What are the consequences when the lack of conversation within the judiciary and among prosecutors? A judge who is not aware of the underlying emotionernas importance can complicate a trial, says Åsa Wettergren and Stina Blomgren Blix.
– for Example, when a judge begins by thanking the defendant for him to come to the trial. The defendants perceive it not as a friendly gesture, ilsknar and says angrily: ”As if I had no choice”. Similar example, we experienced a few times during the negotiations we followed, ” says Åsa Wettergren.
may be the poorer health of judges and prosecutors. They may take some of the gruesome pictures of murder victims and children who are victims of sexual abuse. To seem indifferent to this and have no one to vent their experiences with the can lead to ill health, think Stina Bergman Blix.
Leads känslolösheten to worse decisions? Well, that is something the two researchers studied.
“But,” says Åsa Wettergren. I think that the recognition of emotions important during a court hearing could lead to better processes in the courtroom and perhaps also to better decisions.
the Book ”the Professionals in court” is published by Routledge publishers in London. It is based inter alia on interviews with nearly 100 judges and prosecutors.
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