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A Qualitative Study of Magistrates' Decisions in Contested Remand Hearings in Three Metropoiitan Boroughs

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A Qualitative Study of Magistrates' Decisions in Contested Remand Hearings in Three Metropoiitan Boroughs Katherine Steward London School of Economics Remanding Women: A Qualitative Study Of Magistrates' Decisions in Contested Remand Hearings in Three Metropoiitan Boroughs A thesis submitted to the University of London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2004 UMI Number: U198804 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Disscrrlation Publishing UMI U198804 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 üumry artüh UOi»y KtMticai andetmomte Science Abstract Remanding Women: A Qualitative Study Of Magistrates* Decisions In Contested Remand Hearings In Three Metropolitan Boroughs This thesis examines magistrates’ decision-making in contested remand hearings in three boroughs of a large English city. The remand hearings for sixty four women (103 separate court appearances) who were ‘at risk’ of a custodial remand were observed. The first section describes how the wide scope for discretionary practice and the weak regulatory structures in the remand system allowed the legal framework to be interpreted in different ways. It is argued that remand decision making was influenced by the socio-political and organisational contexts within which it took place. These contexts contributed to actors’ understandings of what custodial remands were ‘for’, thus affecting remand outcomes. In the second section it is argued that actors employed different models of remand to reach decisions, depending on which of the contradictory goals (legal and extra-legal) of the remand system they were attempting to satisfy. Information was filtered and bail law was selectively applied depending on how magistrates’ defined individual cases. Gender considerations were found to significantly feature in magistrates’ decisions when cases were on the ‘cusp’ between conditional bail and custodial remand. The final section examines how the remand models were translated into practice in the social world of the magistrates’ court. The goals of the three models were observed to fit into, and compete with, the variety of roles and responsibilities that court actors had; the application of bail law was found to be a social process as well as a legal one. Lastly, structural influences, such as ‘court culture’ and patterns of deference, on courts’ social processes are explored. The thesis concludes that the majority of remand decisions are based on the seriousness of the offence but magistrates are influenced by personal characteristics, such as gender, in ‘cusp’ cases. It suggests a model of remand decision making for women in which different types of cases and defendants are processed according to different rationales. Contents List of Tables....................................................................................................6 Acronyms..........................................................................................................7 Chapter One: Introduction ...........................................................................8 The Legal Framework........................................................................................................................ 11 The Remand Process.................................................................................................................... 11 Remand Law................................................................................................................................... 14 Trends in the Use of Custodial Remands for Women....................................................................17 The Effect of Custodial Remands.................................................................................................... 23 Aims and Objectives.......................................................................................................................... 27 Thesis Overview.................................................................................................................................. 28 Chapter Two: Literature Review...............................................................31 Remand Research..............................................................................................................................31 Offence And Defendant Characteristics.....................................................................................31 Social And Organisational Processes........................................................................................ 34 Variation In Remand Outcomes Between Courts And Areas..................................................37 A Critique Of Previous Research......................................................................................................38 Conceptualising The Remand System.............................................................................................44 Modelling The Criminal Justice System......................................................................................44 Discretion, Regulation And Legal Rules.....................................................................................46 Symbolic Interaction ism................................................................................................................ 49 Gender............................................................................................................................................. 53 The Invisibility Of Women.........................................................................................................54 Are Women Treated Differently By The Criminal Justice System?................................... 55 Why Do Women Commit Less Crime?...................................................................................56 Conceptualising And Constructing Women In The Justice System.................................. 56 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................ 57 Chapter Three: Methodology....................................................................60 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................60 Research Sites.................................................................................................................................... 63 Access And Consent.......................................................................................................................... 65 Research Methods..............................................................................................................................67 Documentary Sources...................................................................................................................68 Court Observations........................................................................................................................ 69 Semi-structured Interviews................................................................................ 76 Case Vignettes................................................................................................................................ 79 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................................82 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................ 82 Chapter Four: Structural Constraints On The Remand Decision ... 83 Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 83 Socio-Political Context....................................................................................................................... 84 Central Government Policy........................................................................................................... 85 The Media And Public Opinion.................................................................................................... 87 Summary..........................................................................................................................................89 Organisational Context....................................................................................................................... 89 Time/Delays.................................................................................................................................... 89 Perceptions of Available Information...........................................................................................94 Perceptions of Available Resources..........................................................................................100 Summary........................................................................................................................................105 Formal Regulatory Context............................................................................................................
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