 |
 |
Dear all,
Below you will find information on a possibly relevant CfP for a session on visuals in the criminal justice system,
Best wishes,
Gabry
**********************************************************************
Dr. Gabry Vanderveen
Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology
Leiden Law School
Leiden University
PO Box 9520
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands
CFP: Cross-examining visuals in the criminal justice system
(session E, Visual Sociology Thematic Group, International Sociological Association)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
1-4 August 2012
Abstract submission deadline: December 15, 2011
Notification of acceptance: January 31, 2012
Full paper deadline: June 1 2012
Registration deadline: April 10, 2012
Organizer of session: Gabry Vanderveen, Leiden University, [log in to unmask]
More information and general instructions: http://www.isa-sociology.org/buenos-aires-2012/tg/tg.php?n=TG05.
Working under the International Sociological Association (ISA), the Visual Sociology Thematic Group (TG05) will hold its mid-term conference in ISA's Forum on Social Justice and Democratization, 1-4 August 2012, in Buenos Aires, Argentina and will focus its sessions on Visual Activism and Social Justice. One of the sessions (session E) is titled Cross-examining visuals in the criminal justice system.
Besides courtroom drawings and mug shots, nowadays one can also browse websites in order to locate registered sex offenders living in one’s neighbourhood, map (criminal) incidents or watch tapes from surveillance cameras in order to help the police catch ‘the bad guys’. In the courtroom itself visuals are used increasingly. Earlier, photographs, for example of suspects, wounds of the victim, fingerprints and so on, and X-rays were introduced. Thanks to tremendous developments in technology, software and new media, this has been followed by videotaped confessions or testimonies, surveillance camera footage, computer animations and simulations, DNA-profiles, various medical imaging technologies and footage from cameras in the courtroom.
One might debate that visuals with respect to the incident and the defendant are incriminating by their nature: CCTV footage and mug shots are not neutral. Neither are visuals focusing on the victim’s suffering (wounds, chalk lines to indicate a body) or simulations of a crime scenario. If so, this calls for a critique of victim’s and defendant’s rights, for example with respect to privacy, a fair trial and the so called equality of arms. Several questions are important to address. How are crime-related visuals used, by whom and with what purpose? Are they used as an illustration or as evidence both by the prosecutor and the defense? Do all parties have equal access and opportunities to create and employ these images? How do the images find their way from the criminal justice system to press coverage and popular culture, and how does this relate to issues of privacy of the people involved?
A critique on visuals in the criminal justice system is even more important because research from other disciplines (e.g. experimental psychology) on cognitive processes points out that visual information has different consequences than verbal information. For example, several studies show that mock jurors exposed to photographic evidence instead of written or spoken transcripts are more emotionally affected; more often give a guilty verdict, give higher monetary awards to the victim. Exposure to photographs, video or computer animation leads to higher rates of condemnation and higher estimates of the degree of atrocity and can lead to lower standards of proof. In other words, these and other experiments show that visuals have different consequences compared to textual (or verbal) descriptions. What does this mean for people’s rights, for justice?
Visuals have real consequences, leading to individual, legal, social and political (re)actions, affecting victims, defendants, their families and the public at large. This panel brings together papers on crime-related visuals in the criminal justice system, the meaning and consequences of these visuals for people’s ideas, opinions, and the victim’s and defendant’s rights. Each paper will discuss the (national) legal or ethical context and the implications of the visuals for the persons involved. In general, this panel aims to contribute to a solid political, social and legal discussion on the fair use of visuals by the police and in court.