Northumbria Journals
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Dialling in: Reflections on Telephone Interviews in light of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Get PDFTelephone interviews have always been the next best option to face-to-face interviews which has affected researchers’ perceptions of its use in qualitative research. This article considers the challenges against the use of telephone interviews as a primary source of data collection posed by the ‘gold standard’ - face-to-face interviews. With the rapid development of technology in recent years and an increased interest in virtual research, the viability of telephone interviews as a mode of data collection may be forgotten. Thereon, the methodological strengths of telephone interviews will be explored by comparing it to face-to-face interviews and considering its use in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. I will be drawing from my legal research study on the role of the education system in informing children aged 7-14 of their criminal responsibility in schools, to provide reflections, examples and make my argument
From Law to Policy and Practice – Collaborative Research Amidst a Pandemic: The Creation of the Bournemouth Protocol on Mass Grave Protection and Investigation
Get PDFHow can mass graves be protected to safeguard truth and justice for survivors? This was the question motivating the research project to produce international protection and investigative standards for mass graves, which resulted in the creation of the Bournemouth Protocol on Mass Grave Protection and Investigation. The research was premised upon broad and inclusive stakeholder consultation to ensure suitability, completeness and sustainability of project outcomes as well as to generate acceptance, endorsement and implementation. To realise the project we used a combination of desk-based research, round-table discussion with expert-participants from a variety of disciplines and cultural backgrounds and anonymous external consultation.
In this paper, we reflect on the methods and processes used for the purpose of international standard setting based on legal norms. We discuss the choices made along the way in facilitating this cross-disciplinary, international, inclusive and collaborative project. In doing so, we explore the function of the research process in light of the need to ensure that the Protocol reflects the different and possibly conflicting needs and sensitivities of survivors vis-à-vis the demands of criminal justice, capacity, resources and scientifically robust practices. We outline the challenges experienced and anticipated in evaluating approaches, agreeing definitions, identifying commonalities, negotiating differences and adapting to Covid-19 as part of the process of translating legal norms into policy and practice for achieving effective impact
Student in the Seats, Teacher in the Streets: Evaluating the Impacts of Law Students Becoming “Street Law” Teachers
Get PDFThe need for public legal education is at an all-time high. From constitutional law issues raised by the recent presidential election to increased media coverage of police brutality, there are numerous examples of why it is crucial to teach practical law to non-lawyers. Street Law programs, administered by law students to teenagers, are a prominent type of public legal education. Despite the urgent importance of Street Law programs, there is limited research on their pedagogical effectiveness, or how they affect those who administer them. This project helps to close that gap through its multimethod research on the course instructors. In addition to completing this program evaluation, the project also (1) develops a theoretical framework that will enable law school administrators and scholars from a variety of disciplines to understand how law students are impacted by Street Law programs, and (2) lays the foundation for future assessments of Street Law and other public law education programs. The importance of understanding the impacts of these programs, which the results of this study show to be overwhelmingly positive, cannot be overstated because they have broad potential to affect law students’ transition to practice and society at large
Public Legal Education - The Role of Law Schools in Building a More Legally Literate Society (Routledge 2021)
Get PDFThe impact of algorithms on legitimacy in sentencing
Get PDFThis paper explores current and future possible uses of algorithms in sentencing and assesses the likely impact of their use on penal legitimacy. The focus is on sentencing in England and Wales, although examples from the United States, where the use of algorithms in sentencing is more extensive, are also considered. An understanding of legitimacy grounded in procedural fairness is used, with a particular focus on two key factors affecting fairness: bias and transparency. It is concluded that the use of algorithms in sentencing increases bias and decreases transparency, adversely affecting the fairness of the sentencing process and weakening penal legitimacy. The paper is intended to contribute to wider discussions on sentencing and the use of algorithms in criminal justice and may therefore appeal to academics in these areas, criminal justice practitioners and policymakers considering further development of algorithmic tools in sentencing
Offenders with a Mental Impairment Under a 'Fusion Law': Non-Discrimination, Treatment, Public Protection
Get PDFA common criticism of a ‘fusion law’ - a generic law covering all instances where a person’s ability to make a treatment decision is impaired, regardless of the cause, and furthermore which only allows non-consensual treatment if it is in the person’s ‘best interests’ – is that it fails to deal adequately with the protection of the public. This paper examines the implications of a ‘fusion law’ where a person with an ‘impairment or disturbance of mental functioning’ has committed an offence or where the person has been found ‘unfit to plead’ or ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’. It is argued that within the parameters of a fusion law, unfair discrimination towards those with a mental impairment placed on treatment orders by a court - as exists presently in nearly all jurisdictions - can be avoided while at the same time providing satisfactory public protection. This can be achieved through hospital treatment, voluntary or involuntary depending on the person’s decision-making ability and best interests (or best interpretation of ‘will and preferences’), and a form of supervision order in the community that is supportively structured, but includes special conditions to ensure compliance
Smart meters’ roll out, solutions in favour of a trust enhancing law in the EU
Get PDFThe article briefly describes the smart meters technology in the electricity field, its potentials and risks in terms of privacy and data protection, which could undermine the trust of customers. Then, the article delineates the EU legal framework that applies to the technology. A critical assessment of the latter follows, with the identification of some flaws. The focus shifts subsequently to the national level of legislation, when the Flemish laws on the matter are analysed. A different part is dedicated to the role that some technologies could have to reduce the risks and implement privacy. In conclusion, some recommendations are proposed to make the law more prone to enhance trust by the customers.  
