Legal culture and image in the Brazilian courts

Vicente Riccio; Clarissa  Diniz Guedes

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1275

Authors

Vicente Riccio Law School Federal University of Juiz de Fora
Clarissa Diniz Guedes Law School Federal University of Juiz de Fora

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1275

Keywords:

Legal Culture, Image, Court Decision, Brazil

Abstract

This article discusses the interpretation of images by Brazilian courts and how the legal culture is part of this process. The use of the image as a means of proof differs qualitatively from the evidence traditionally applied in the judiciary, such as documents or witnesses. The image is characterized by instantaneity, emotionality, and immediacy. In addition, the media allow the construction of different meanings, implicit or explicit. The analysis varies according to the nature of the legal systems. In the adversarial legal system (Anglo-Saxon) the images are submitted to cross-examination and debated orally. In the civil law system, the role of the magistrate is preponderant, being responsible for the images’ validity. The research found that magistrates incorporate the content of their videos into their decisions based on experts’ opinions or witnesses’ testimonials who have viewed the images. This highlights a legal culture that is based on formalism and is ill-prepared to deal with the particularities of the image.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Views 848
Downloads:
12_6_Riccio_Guedes_OSLS 263
XML_12_6_Riccio_Guedes_OSLS 159

Author Biographies

Vicente Riccio, Law School Federal University of Juiz de Fora

Associate Professor at Law School of Federal University of Juiz de Fora - Brazil.

Clarissa Diniz Guedes, Law School Federal University of Juiz de Fora

Law School, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Email: clarissadinizguedes@gmail.com

References

Alasuutari, P., 1996. Researching Culture: Qualitative Methods and Cultural Studies. London: Sage.

Arnaud, A.J., 1998. Entre modernite et mondialisation : Cinq leçons d’histoire de la philosophie du droit et de l’État. Paris: LGDJ.

Asimow, M., 2009. Lawyers in your Living Room! Law on television. Chicago: American Bar Association.

Badaró, G.H., 2009. Tribunal do Júri: Lei 11.689, de 09.06.2008. In: Maria Thereza Rocha de Assis Moura eds., As Reformas no Processo Penal: as novas leis de 2008 e os projetos de reforma. São Paulo: RT, p. 50-245.

Barthes, R., 1964. Rhétorique de l’image. Communications [online], 4, 40–51. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3406/comm.1964.1027 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Blankenburg, E., 1998. Patterns of Legal Culture: The Netherlands Compared to Neighboring Germany. The American Journal of Comparative Law, 46(1),1–41.

Bohlander, M., 2014. Language, Culture, Legal Traditions, and International Criminal Justice. Journal of International Criminal Justice, 12(3), 491–513.

Boltanski, L., 1993. La Souffrance à Distance : Morale Humanitaire, Médias et Politique. Paris: Métailié.

Brion, D.J., 2014. The Criminal trial as a theater: the semiotic power of image. In: A. Wagner and R. Sherwin, eds., Law, Culture and Visual Studies. Dordrecht: Springer, 329–359.

Brouwer, R., 2018. On the Meaning of ‘system’ in the common and civil law traditions: two approaches to legal unity. Utrecht Journal of International and European Law [online], 34 (1), 45–55. Available from: https://doi.org/10.5334/ujiel.451 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Cappelletti, M., 2010. Processo, ideologias e sociedade (vol. II). Trans.: H. Zaneti Junior. Porto Alegre: Sergio Antonio Fabris.

Carlsson, B., and Baier, M., 2002. A Visual Self-Image of Legal Authority: The Temple of Law. Social and Legal Studies, 11(2), 185–209.

Carney, G., 2015. Comparative approaches to statutory interpretations in civil law and common law jurisdictions. Statute Law Review, 36(1), 46–58.

Carrabine, E., 2012. Just images: aesthetics, ethics and visual criminology. The British Journal of Criminology [online], 52(3), 463–489. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr089 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Cavallone, B., 2006. Forme del procedimento e funzione della prova (ottant’anni dopo Chiovenda). Rivista di diritto processuale, 61, 417–432.

Cavender, G., and Fishman, M., 1998. Television Reality Crime Programs: Context and History. In: M. Fishman and G. Cavender, eds., Entertaining Crime: Television Reality Programs. New York, Aldine de Gruyter, 1–18.

Cotterrell, R., 2004. Law in Culture. Ratio Juris, 17(1), 1–14.

Cotterrell, R., 2017. Theory and Values in Socio-legal Studies. Journal of Law and Society [online], 44(1), 19–36. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12047 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Cunha Filho, M.C., and Silbey, S.S., 2020. What lies behind the apparent trust in cryptocurrencies? Just Money [online], 15 April. Available from: https://justmoney.org/m-de-castro-cunha-filho-s-silbey-what-lies-behind-the-apparent-trust-in-cryptocurrencies/ [Accessed 23 July 2020].

Denti, V., 1974. La evolución del derecho de las pruebas en los procesos civiles contemporáneos. In: V. Denti, Estudios de Derecho Probatorio. Trans.: S. Sentís Melendo and T.A. Banzhaf. Buenos Aires: Jurídicas Europa-América, 79–155.

Denzin, N.K., and Lincoln, Y., 1998. Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials. London: Sage.

Ewick, P., and Silbey, S., 1998. The Common Place of Law: Stories from Everyday Life. Chicago University Press.

Fan, M.D., 2018. Body Cameras, Big Data and Police Accountability. Law & Social Inquiry [online], 43(4), 1236–1256. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/lsi.12354 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Faria, J.E., 1997. Direitos humanos e globalização econômica: notas para uma discussão. Estudos avançados [online], 11(30), 43–53. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-40141997000200004 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Feigenson, N., 2014. The Visual in Law: some problems for legal theory. Law, Culture and the Humanities, 10(1), 13–23.

Feigenson, N., and Spiesel, C., 2009. Law on Display: The Digital Transformation of Legal Persuasion and Judgment. New York: NYU Press.

Fleming, D., 1996. Can pictures be arguments? Argumentation and Advocacy, 33(1), 11–22.

Flusser, V., 1985. Filosofia da caixa preta: Ensaios para uma futura filosofia da fotografia. 1st ed. São Paulo: Hucitec.

Friedman, L.M., 1975. The Legal System: A Social Science Perspective. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Garapon, A., 1997. Bien juger: Essai sur le rituel judiciaire. Paris: Odile Jacob.

Geertz, C., 1973. The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. New York: Basic Books.

Giuliani, A., 1962. Problemi metodologici nello studio del diritto processuale comparato. Rivista Trimestrale di diritto processuale civile, 653–670.

Giura, G., 2015. I Delitti di Criminalità Organizata in Sicilia: Un’analisi sócio-giuridica della giurisprudenza. Milan: Mimesis.

Groarke, L., Palczewski, C.H., and Godden, D., 2016. Navigating the visual turn in argument. Argumentation and Advocacy, 52(4), 217–235.

Hertogh, M., and Kurkchiyan, M., 2016. When politics comes into play, law is no longer law’: Images of collective legal consciousness in the UK, Poland and Bulgaria. International Journal of Law in Context, 12(4), 404–419.

Kaser, M., 1968. Derecho romano privado. Trans.: J. Santa Cruz Teijeiro. 5th ed. Madrid: Instituto Editorial Reus.

Kjeldsen, J., 2015. The study of visual and multimodal argumentation. Argumentation [online], 29, 115–132. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-015-9348-4 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Kjeldsen, J., 2016. Studying rhetorical audiences: a call for qualitative reception studies in argumentation and rhetoric. Informal Logic [online], 36(2), 136–158. Available from: https://doi.org/10.22329/il.v36i2.4672 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Legrand, P., 2006. Comparative Legal Studies and the Matter of Authenticity. Journal of Comparative Law [online], 1(2), 365–460. Available from: https://www.pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFiles/Comparing%2C%20Authentically.pdf [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Liu, S., 2015. Law’s social forms: a powerless approach to the sociology of law. Law & Social Inquiry [online], 40(1), 1–28. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/lsi.12105 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Lombardo, L., 1999. La prova giudiziale: Contributo alla teoria del giudizio di fatto nel processo. Milan: Giuffrè.

Nardelli, M.M., 2019. A prova no tribunal do júri: uma abordagem racionalista. Rio de Janeiro: Lumen Juris.

Nelken, D., 2001. Towards a Sociology of Legal Adaptation. In: D. Nelken and J. Feest, eds., Adapting Legal Cultures. Oxford: Hart, 7–54.

Nelken, D., 2012. Using Legal Culture: purposes and problems. In: D. Nelken, ed., Using Legal Culture. London: Wildy, Simmons & Hill, 1–51.

Nelken, D., 2016. Comparative Legal Research and Legal Culture: facts, approaches and values. The Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 12, 45–62.

Nobili, M., 1974. Il principio del libero convincimento del giudice. Milan: Giuffrè.

Nunes, D.J.C., 2008. Processo Jurisdicional Democrático: uma análise das reformas processuais. Curitiba: Juruá.

Penisi, C., 2006. La trasparenza della cultura giuridica. Sociologia e ricerca sociale, 79, 45–54.

Perrocheau, V., and Zerouki Cottin, D., 2018. La visioconférence dans le procès pénal français, d’un rituel a l’autre? Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 8(3), 346–362. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-0943 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Rafter, N., and Brown, M., 2011. Criminology Goes to the Movies. Albany: New York University Press.

Rebuffa, G., and Blankenburg, E., 1993. Culture juridique. In: A.J. Arnaud ed., Dictionnaire encyclopédique de théorie et de sociologie du droit. Paris: LGDJ, 139–141.

Riccio, V., et al., 2018. Imagem e Retórica na prova em vídeo. Revista de Informação Legislativa, RIL [online], 55(220), 85–103. Available from: https://www12.senado.leg.br/ril/edicoes/55/220/ril_v55_n220_p85 [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Roque, G. 2016. Esquisse d’une rhétorique des interactions verbo-iconiques. Images Revues [online], 5, 1–19. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4000/

imagesrevues.3434 [Accessed 19 December 2017].

Sarat, A., and Kearns, T., 1998. The Cultural Lives of Law. In: A. Sarat and T. Kearns, eds., Law in the Domains of Culture. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1–20.

Shearing, C., and Ericson, R.V., 1991. Culture as Figurative Action. British Journal of Sociology, 42(4), 481–506.

Sherwin, R., 2011. Visualizing Law in the Age of the Digital Baroque: Arabesques and Entanglements. New York: Routledge.

Silbey, J., 2008. Cross-Examining Film. Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class [online], 8(1), 17–46. Available from: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.

edu/rrgc/vol8/iss1/4/ [Accessed 18 February 2022].

Silbey, J., 2017. Cross-Examining Film: American trial films and the popular culture of law. In: N. Rafter and M. Brown, eds., The Oxford Encyclopedia of Crime, Media and Popular Culture, 1–25.

Silbey, S., 2010. Legal Culture and the cultures of legality. In: J.R. Hall, L. Grindstaff and M.C. Leo, eds., Handbook of Cultural Sociology. London/New York: Routledge, 470–479.

Swidler, A., 1986. Culture in Action: symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review, 51(2), 273–286.

Thompson, J.B., 1995. The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media. Redwood City: Stanford University Press.

Tozzi, A., 1974. L’evoluzione del giudizio di fatto nel processo romano. Rivista di diritto processuale civile, 17, parte I, anno 1940, 125–229.

Varano, V., and Barsotti, V., 2014. La tradizione giuridica occidentale: testo e materiali per un confronto civil law commmon law. 5th ed. Turin: Giappichelli.

Wagner, A., and Bozzo-Rey, M., 2014. French Commemorative postage stamps as the means of legal culture and memory. In: A. Wagner and R.K. Sherwin, eds., Law, Culture and Visual Studies. Dordrecht: Springer, 307–328.