(Mis)trusting Justice? Personal stories of legal proceedings in the family and criminal courts
Lived Experience of the Law FINAL REPORT: A study from Revolving Doors and the Institute of Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London
Mistrust is endemic in the justice system, claims Lived Experience of the Law, a new report based on 131 in-depth interviews with people who have been through the family and/or criminal courts, and co-produced by a team of qualified peer researchers with their own experience of the courts and legal system.
Lived Experience of the Law has been a three-year research project from justice charity Revolving Doors and the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck, University of London, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
Headline findings include:
- Court experiences caused harm in addition to that associated with the circumstances of the case. Court experiences were said to have caused a deterioration in mental health, especially those involved in family proceedings. A significant minority of participants described feeling suicidal.
- An overwhelming lack of trust in the justice system. This extended beyond the courts into the wider criminal and family justice system, and to social services.
- For both defendants and victims, previous negative police interactions affected expectations of receiving fair treatment from the other parts of the justice system.
- Faced with delays and postponements at every stage of the criminal justice process, participants felt at the mercy of an overstretched and under-resourced legal system. Most participants depended on publicly funded legal representation. In criminal proceedings, some participants felt pressure to plead guilty to reduce lawyers’ workloads.
The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, was co-produced with a team of peer researchers, all of whom have personal experience of the justice system themselves. It presents candid perspectives of how contact with legal authorities over a person’s lifetime shapes their expectations of fairness, effective participation and access to justice.
Pavan Dhaliwal is Chief Executive of Revolving Doors:
“A justice system cannot expect public trust while people leave court feeling confused, unheard or further traumatised. This research is powerful because it was co-produced by people who know the system from the inside, and their experiences have directly shaped the recommendations.
We now need action in the form of clearer language, better support before and after hearings, consistent special measures and a problem-solving approach that sees the person behind the case. These changes would not weaken justice. They would make it fairer, more effective and more legitimate.”
Gill Hunter is a Senior Research Fellow at ICPR, and helped lead on the project:
“Lived Experience of the Law shows that every contact people have with the justice system counts towards future trust and expectations of fairness. It also makes clear the importance of justice professionals’ actions and the value of showing kindness, consideration and empathy for humanising formal court processes.”
Ash Patel is Programme Head for Justice at the Nuffield Foundation:
“This research shows clearly the despair felt by many caught up in the justice system. But it also shows that trust can be restored. While wider reform is needed, simple changes that don’t require significant new investment can make a real difference. By listening to those at the heart of these hearings we can bring more humanity and empathy to the legal process.”
The eventual recommendations were produced through five policy workshops, bringing together people with lived experience, justice professionals, voluntary sector services and others to reflect on findings. They include:
- Courts adopting a problem-solving approach, working with people who have lived experience to shape guidance.
- Reducing legal jargon, allowing flexibility in hearings and ensuring sufficient and consistently available special measures.
- Increasing the availability of free and independent advice and support for defendants before, during and after hearings.
Whilst a new Prime Minister settles into office over summer, the courts – and those who use them and work in them – will continue to feel the strain. A functioning legal system is a pillar of the legitimacy of our democracy: with Lived Experience of the Law, we hope to set out both the scale of the issue and a clear pathway to change, trust and hope.
