‘Empathy pouring out of your bones’: Emotions and emotional labour in courts – The case of young magistrates in England and Wales
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores the experiences of young (under 40 years old) magistrates in England and Wales, a perennially under-represented group in the criminal justice system. Drawing on 23 interviews with currently serving young magistrates, the article examines the use of emotions and emotional labour by this group of criminal justice actors, specifically the ways in which emotion constructively informs judicial decision-making, and how emotional management is used to achieve procedural justice in magistrates’ courts. Data also show that young magistrates, as a minority group in this context, enact emotional labour practices to navigate through their experiences which include instances of soft discrimination and an absence of peer support. The article’s findings make new contributions to the growing corpus of literature on emotion and criminal justice as well as advancing understandings of emotional labour, specifically the intersection of this concept with age, volunteerism and discrimination.
Source: Criminology & Criminal Justice
Author: Xavier L’Hoiry
Institution: University of Sheffield
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
Funders: Leverhulme Trust, British Academy
Award: G1459650814
OpenAlex ID: W4404498483