Remote criminal justice and vulnerable individuals: Blunting emotion and empathy?

Abstract

In this article, we examine the effects of remote criminal justice on expressions and perceptions of emotion. We draw on original interview data from the Australian Research Council funded study 'The Digital Criminal Justice Project: Vulnerability and the Digital Subject' DE210100586 (2021–2024). This project focuses on the benefits and challenges of vulnerable individuals' use of remote communication technologies from the perspective of 85 Australian judicial officers, lawyers and affiliated professionals. During the fieldwork interviews, several judicial officers and lawyers raised concerns regarding the perceived 'blunting of the emotional impact' (defence lawyer DL26) of this mode of evidence and appearance. For instance, one Supreme Court Judge (SCJ3) felt that a plea from a remote prisoner lacked emotion, impacting the engagement between the court and that individual, and devaluing their role in proceedings. This is significant because: 'criminal trials are all about people and emotions' (SCJ3). The foregrounding of emotion and empathy by judges and lawyers during the interviews was particularly interesting as none of the interview questions directly raised that specific issue. In this article, we analyse these new empirical data in the context of relevant literature concerning the effects of remote criminal justice on emotion and empathy. While we find indications that emotion and empathy may potentially be 'blunted' by technologies, there remain cogent reasons for vulnerable witnesses to use the remote mode. However, regarding remote people-in-prison, we find that the technology can diminish empathetic engagement during both legal conferencing and court appearances.