Trauma-Informed Courts: A Review and Integration of Justice Perspectives and Gender Responsiveness

McKenna, Nicole C.; Holtfreter, Kristy

doi:10.1080/10926771.2020.1747128

Cited by 30 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Like therapeutic jurisprudence, a trauma-informed sentencing process seeks to treat defendants (and other parties in the court) humanely and respectfully while also avoiding re-traumatisation because of court practices (see Halsey & De Vel-Palumbo, 2020; McLachlan, 2021). A small body of literature has examined how sentencing may be informed by trauma (Bagaric et al, 2019) and, more specifically, trauma-informed (Jackson et al, 2021; McKenna & Holtfreter, 2021; Smith, 2013). Trauma-informed sentencing requires that judges: realise trauma may be present, acknowledge the prevalence of adversity in defendants’ lives, and how adversity may result in trauma (e.g.…”

Section: Trauma-informed Sentencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma-informed sentencing in South Australian courts

McLachlan

2022

Journal of Criminology

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Recently the concepts of ‘compassionate courts’, ‘humane justice’, ‘kindness in court’, and trauma-informed practice have emerged in legal theory and practice in the US, England, Scotland and Australia. This article uses a trauma-informed practice framework to examine how South Australian superior court judges acknowledge defendant trauma in sentencing. Trauma-informed sentencing practice requires that judges realise the presence of trauma, recognise its relevance, respond in a way that is informed by trauma and act to resist re-traumatisation. By using this ‘4Rs’ framework to analyse sentencing remarks of 448 defendants published in 2019, the presence of trauma-informed practice was explored. Analysis indicated that judges realised trauma was present in the lives of many defendants, particularly women and Aboriginal peoples, but did not always overtly recognise a link between trauma and criminal behaviour and were unlikely to refer to a defendant’s trauma history or use trauma-informed principles of practice in their sentencing response. Research findings were presented to judicial officers at a Judicial Development Day in 2021. The article reflects on those discussions as well as the primary research, when making recommendations for future sentencing practice primary for the judiciary, but also for legislators and legal practitioners.

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Section: Trauma-informed Sentencingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma-informed sentencing in South Australian courts

McLachlan

2022

Journal of Criminology

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“…Awareness of the effects of the autonomic nervous system may improve overall well-being, including physical and mental health, by reducing levels of stress and may engender better communication, self-regulation, and co-regulation. Finding ways to foster positive communication can improve the court experience for all involved (McKenna & Holtfreter, 2021).…”

Section: Poly Vaga L a N D Com Mu N Ication I N Th E Cou Rtroommentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective communication with participants in court hearings: using polyvagal theory in the courtroom

Bailey¹,

Bailey²

2022

Juvenile Family Court J

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The polyvagal theory introduces the premise that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) has an essential role in detecting threats and calming social engagement. In busy courtrooms, the subtle nuances of communication can be missed or overlooked. Messages of threat activate an autonomic state from calm to agitated beneath conscious awareness. When shifts occur, information can be misunderstood or misinterpreted, resulting in overly defensive responses from all parties. The polyvagal theory suggests a perspective that encourages self‐reflection and awareness to counterbalance the inevitable physical and mental stress of managing todays’ courtrooms.

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“…While a variety of general theories are increasingly being applied to victimization, less is known about its consequences, and the extent to which legitimacy perceptions either in part or in connection with other theories might be relevant. In the specialized court context, which includes offenders who often have a history of trauma and victimization, justice perspectives have recently been linked to trauma-informed interventions (McKenna & Holtfreter, 2021). Youth who…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Legal Authorities in a Longitudinal Study of Adjudicated Youth

Pusch

Holtfreter

McKenna

et al. 2021

J Youth Adolescence

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While perceptions of the legitimacy of formal authority have been found to influence offending, little is known about the extent to which such perceptions influence the related outcome of victimization. This study addressed this gap by examining how changes in legitimacy affected victimization both within-and between-individuals. This study used 7 waves of the Pathways to Desistance data (n = 1310; 13.85% female; age range 14-22). Youth who have committed serious offenses were surveyed at 6-month intervals during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. In the full sample, the effects of legitimacy on both victimization and offending remained largely stable over time within individuals. Sensitivity analyses revealed that more positive perceptions of legitimacy significantly reduce offending for boys and reduce victimization for girls during the developmental period under study. Consistent with prior research, between-individual differences appear to be more important than within-individual change for explaining both offending and victimization. The implications of the results for theory, future research, and early intervention for high-risk youth are discussed.

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Trauma-Informed Courts: A Review and Integration of Justice Perspectives and Gender Responsiveness

Cited by 30 publications

References 50 publications

Trauma-informed sentencing in South Australian courts

Trauma-informed sentencing in South Australian courts

Effective communication with participants in court hearings: using polyvagal theory in the courtroom

Perceptions of Legal Authorities in a Longitudinal Study of Adjudicated Youth

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