Courts, court users and the judicial process

ICPR has long-standing experience of conducting empirical courts-based research. Prior studies have examined sentence decision-making and public attitudes to sentencing; the quality of criminal advocacy; and what it is like to attend the criminal courts as a defendant, witness or victim. Current work includes research into what it means to 'participate' in criminal, family and tribunal proceedings; the values shaping deliberation in the Court of Protection; and the preparation of witness statements for the Employment Tribunal.

Current projects

Diverse Disabilities: Accessibility and Justice in the Tribunal

Lived experience of the law: A research and policy project

Public engagement with justice: Evidence review

Completed projects include:

Enhancing problem-solving practice in the Youth Court

Inside Crown Court

Joint Enterprise

Judging Values and Participation in Mental Capacity Law

Judicial perceptions of criminal advocacy

Language Barriers in the Criminal Justice System

Participation in Courts and Tribunals

Taking and Making a Statement: An exploratory study analysing through the lens of research the production of witness statements by lawyers and litigants in person (MAS)

The quality of legal advice and representation in the Youth Justice System

The Youth Proceedings Advocacy Review

Voicing loss: Meanings and implications of participation by bereaved people in inquests

Publications

Jacobson, J., Murray, A. and Templeton, L. (2024) Principles for Practice No. 2 - Humanity at the heart of the coronial process: quality of interactions at inquest hearings. Documentation. Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, and Centre for Death & Society, University of Bath.

Jacobson, J., Templeton, L. and Murray, A. (2024) ‘Playing a game you didn’t fully understand, by their rules’: The aspiration to locate bereaved people ‘at the heart’ of the coroner service. Project Report. Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, and Centre for Death & Society, University of Bath.

Jacobson, J., Templeton, L. and Murray, A. (2024) ‘I feel like I’ve been swept along on a tsunami’: Bereaved people’s experiences of coroners’ investigations and inquest. Project Report. Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Univerity of Birkbeck, and Centre for Death & Society, University of Bath.

Jacobson, J., Murray, A. and Templeton, L. (2024) Principles for Practice No. 1 - Humanity at the heart of the coronial process: information and communication. Documentation. Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, and Centre for Death & Society, University of Bath.

Jacobson, J., Murray, A. and Templeton, L. (2024) Voicing Loss - Policy Brief No. 1: Clarifying the role and remit of the coroner. Documentation. Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London, and Centre for Death & Society, University of Bath.

Kirby, A. (2023) "Witnessing (Dis)engagement: A Framework for Examining Legitimacy in the Criminal Courts" in British Journal of Criminology