Introduction. Empirical research with judicial professionals and courts: Methods and practices

Paula Casaleiro; Sharyn Roach Anleu; João Paulo Dias

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.1935

Egileak

Paula Casaleiro Permanent Observatory for Justice/Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9312-7219
Sharyn Roach Anleu Flinders University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7892-0099
João Paulo Dias Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0884-8746

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https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1935

Gako-hitzak:

Empirical research, methodologies, socio-legal studies

Laburpena

The articles in this special issue focus on the methodological and practical challenges of undertaking empirical research in judicial and/or court settings. They arose from a workshop at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law held on 23-24 June 2022 which discussed the empirical strategies to access and conduct research with judicial officers and the research methods and kinds of data used, including interviews, surveys, court observations, administrative data, documents, and photographs. The articles draw on the experiences of socio-legal researchers within the field, address the importance of linkages with the justice system and discuss a range of socio-legal insights, methodological approaches and methods from disciplines such as anthropology, law, political science, psychology and sociology.

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Paula Casaleiro is a researcher in the Permanent Observatory for Justice and Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Email address: pcasaleiro@ces.uc.pt

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Sharyn Roach Anleu is Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor and Dean of Research in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University, and Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Email address: Sharyn.roachanleu@flinders.edu.au

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João Paulo Dias. Researcher – Permanent Observatory for Justice, Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra. Institutional address: Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra, Colégio S. Jerónimo, Largo D. Dinis, 3000-995 Coimbra, Portugal. Email address: jpdias@ces.uc.pt

Erreferentziak

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Amietta, S.A., and Barrera, L., 2023. “It’s in the Law”. An Ethnographic Account of the Effects of the Introduction of Lay Participation on Judicial Bureaucracies. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1793 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1793

Appleby, G., and Roberts, H., 2023. Studying judges: The role of the Chief Justice, and other institutional actors. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1713 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1713

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Cahill-O’Callaghan, R., 2023. When you cannot ask the judge: Using the case to explore judicial culture. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1745 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1745

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Hunter, C., Nixon, J., and Blandy, S., 2008. Researching the Judiciary: Exploring the Invisible in Judicial Decision Making. Journal of Law and Society, 35(s1), 76–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2008.00426.x

Hunter, J., 2023. Two tiers of judicial officers. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1755 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1755

Mark, A., 2023. Perceptions of administrative policymaking authority: evidence from interviews in three state court systems. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1706 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1706

Moran, L.J., 2015. Judicial pictures as legal life-writing data and a research method. Journal of Law and Society 42, 74–101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2015.00699.x

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Mulcahy, L., and Tsalapatanis, A., 2023. Handmaidens, partners or go-betweens: Reflections on the push and pull of the judicial and justice policy audience. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1707 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1707

Opeskin, B., 2013. The State of the Judicature: A Statistical Profile of Australian Courts and Judges. Sydney Law Review, 35, 489–517. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2494785

Opeskin, B., 2023. Lazy data? Using administrative records in research on judicial systems. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1624 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1624

Roach Anleu, S., and Mack, K., 2023. Empirical Research with Judicial Officers: The Biography of a Research Project. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1726 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1726

Roberts, H., 2014. Telling a history of Australian women judges through courts’ ceremonial archives. Australian Feminist Law Journal, 40, 147–162.

Weill, S., 2023. Engaging with court research: The case of French terror trials. Oñati Socio-Legal Series [online], 13(S1-this issue). Available at: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1732 DOI: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.1732