Design and ideology: innovation and the magistrates' court. Issue 2 (3rd April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Henderson, Emma; Duncanson, Kirsty
• Is Part Of: Griffith law review. Volume 27:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 207
• Page End: 232
• Publication Date: 2018-04-03
• Subjects: Law -- Australia -- Periodicals; Law reviews -- Australia -- Periodicals; 349.94
• DOI: 10.1080/10383441.2018.1592741
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1038-3441

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In this article, we examine the convergence of design, ideology and practice in three contemporary Australian magistrates' courts. Using the formative analytical work of Pat Carlen and Doreen McBarnet, we juxtapose the Neighbourhood Justice Centre in Melbourne against Magistrates' Courts in Brisbane and Perth. Our findings demonstrate the continued centrality of the 'ideology of triviality' and the continued reality of the 'theatre of the absurd' in contemporary mainstream magistrates' courts, leading us to argue that magistrates' justice needs to be both radically rethought and rehoused if it is to meet modern expectations of justice.