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Judges looking into themselves: what makes a good judge?
Andreia de Castro Rodrigues1, Ana Rita Cruz2, Olga Cunha3,4
1William James Center for Research & ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal.
Summary
Judges perceive sentencing as rational but reveal introspective views on decision-making. Understanding judicial self-perception is key to addressing bias in sentencing.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Psychology
- Law
Background:
- Empirical research on judicial sentencing experiences is limited.
- Understanding judges' professional self-perception is crucial for sentencing research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore criminal judges' self-perception of their role in sentencing.
- To analyze the sentencing decision-making process from the judges' perspective.
Main Methods:
- Mixed-methods approach combining self-report questionnaires (n=49) and semi-structured interviews (n=12).
- Exploratory factor analysis and content analysis were employed.
Main Results:
- Judges described sentencing as logical/rational but expressed more complex views in interviews.
- Judges tended to minimize the role of emotions in sentencing, despite their inevitability.
Conclusions:
- Judicial self-perception highlights potential sources of excessive discretion and implicit bias.
- Training judges in emotion regulation and disclosure is recommended to mitigate bias in sentencing.
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