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.

Publications

Roberts, J.V. and Hough, Mike (2011) Custody or community: exploring the boundaries of public punitiveness in England and Wales. Criminology & Criminal Justice 11 (2), pp. 181-197.

Roberts, J.V., Hough, Mike and Ashworth, A. (2011) Personal mitigation, public opinion and sentencing guidelines in England and Wales. Criminal Law Review 7 , pp. 524-530.

Roberts, J.V. and Hough, Mike (2011) Exploring public attitudes to sentencing factors in England and Wales. In: Roberts, J.V. (ed.) Mitigation and Aggravation at Sentencing. Cambridge Studies in Law and Society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 168-187.

Jacobson, Jessica and Hough, Mike (2011) Personal mitigation: an empirical analysis in England and Wales. In: Roberts, J.V. (ed.) Mitigation and Aggravation at Sentencing. Cambridge Studies in Law and Society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 60-80.

Talbot, J. and Jacobson, Jessica (2010) Adult defendants with learning disabilities and the criminal courts. Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour 1 (2), pp. 16-26.

Jacobson, Jessica and Hough, Mike (2010) Unjust deserts: imprisonment for public protection. Project Report. Prison Reform Trust, London, UK.