Outsiders inside

Abstract

The article examines how court professionals interact with and manage victims in the wake of victim participatory reforms instituted within an adversarial legal model. Analysis is based on an examination of interviews with legal and allied professionals ( n = 36) and victims-turned-activists ( n = 7) from four jurisdictions in a US state about their experiences following implementation of legislation that expanded victims’ participatory rights in legal proceedings. An examination of the strategies described in the interviews reveals that legal and allied professionals actively manage victims’ participation throughout the legal process by using creative means to protect them from the sometimes onerous effects of participation while also meeting institutional needs, albeit with varying levels of success. Four strategies—demystification, management of emotions, victim-shielding and strategic exclusion—are discussed and the limits to their efficacy are considered. Future theoretical and policy implications for the practice of victim participation in adversarial legal systems are also addressed.

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