Empathy and Objectivity in the Legal Procedure : The Case of Swedish Prosecutors
Wettergren, Åsa and Bergman Blix, Stina LU
(2016)
In Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention
17(1).
p.19-35
- Abstract
- The role of empathy, the capacity to read someone else’s emotions, in the legal context has previously been studied in relation to primarily judges’ decision-making, often with a concern for objectivity. Our purpose is to study professional emotion management in the legal process through an analysis of Swedish prosecutors’ use of empathy. An ethnographic data collection took place between 2012 and 2015, including shadowing, observations and interviews with 36 prosecutors from 3 prosecution offices. The analysis shows that during the investigation, empathy helps identify the prerequisites of a crime and deciding if and how to prosecute. When preparing for trial, empathy is used to anticipate the situation in court. During the trial, the... (More)
- The role of empathy, the capacity to read someone else’s emotions, in the legal context has previously been studied in relation to primarily judges’ decision-making, often with a concern for objectivity. Our purpose is to study professional emotion management in the legal process through an analysis of Swedish prosecutors’ use of empathy. An ethnographic data collection took place between 2012 and 2015, including shadowing, observations and interviews with 36 prosecutors from 3 prosecution offices. The analysis shows that during the investigation, empathy helps identify the prerequisites of a crime and deciding if and how to prosecute. When preparing for trial, empathy is used to anticipate the situation in court. During the trial, the empathic process includes management of the emotions of others in order to stage credible testimonies, convince the judge and calm victims. The empathic process is oriented and restricted by the emotive–cognitive judicial frame through which prosecutors are rewarded by emotions of comfort and pride in demonstrating expertise of legal coding. We conclude that empathy is integral to prosecutors’ professional performance, including the requirement to be objective. The study points to the problems with silencing emotions and maintaining a positivist notion of objectivity in the legal system. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- The role of empathy, the capacity to read someone else’s emotions, in
the legal context has previously been studied in relation to primarily
judges’ decision-making, often with a concern for objectivity. Our
purpose is to study professional emotion management in the legal
process through an analysis of Swedish prosecutors’ use of empathy.
An ethnographic data collection took place between 2012 and
2015, including shadowing, observations and interviews with 36
prosecutors from 3 prosecution offices. The analysis shows that
during the investigation, empathy helps identify the prerequisites of
a crime and deciding if and how to prosecute. When preparing for
trial, empathy is used to anticipate the... (More) - The role of empathy, the capacity to read someone else’s emotions, in
the legal context has previously been studied in relation to primarily
judges’ decision-making, often with a concern for objectivity. Our
purpose is to study professional emotion management in the legal
process through an analysis of Swedish prosecutors’ use of empathy.
An ethnographic data collection took place between 2012 and
2015, including shadowing, observations and interviews with 36
prosecutors from 3 prosecution offices. The analysis shows that
during the investigation, empathy helps identify the prerequisites of
a crime and deciding if and how to prosecute. When preparing for
trial, empathy is used to anticipate the situation in court. During the
trial, the empathic process includes management of the emotions
of others in order to stage credible testimonies, convince the judge
and calm victims. The empathic process is oriented and restricted
by the emotive–cognitive judicial frame through which prosecutors
are rewarded by emotions of comfort and pride in demonstrating
expertise of legal coding. We conclude that empathy is integral to
prosecutors’ professional performance, including the requirement
to be objective. The study points to the problems with silencing
emotions and maintaining a positivist notion of objectivity in the
legal system. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8aaa0901-0cf2-45e4-8375-b98854629c72
- author
- Wettergren, Åsa
and Bergman Blix, Stina
LU
- publishing date
- 2016-01-02
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Empathy; objectivity; prosecutors; emotion management; courts; Sweden, Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology), Sociologi (exklusive socialt arbete, socialpsykologi och socialantropologi), Empathy; objectivity; prosecutors; emotion management; courts; Sweden
- in
- Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention
- volume
- 17
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 17 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84958034061
- ISSN
- 1404-3858
- DOI
- 10.1080/14043858.2015.1136501
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- 2024-12-04T14:40:36.500+01:00
- id
- 8aaa0901-0cf2-45e4-8375-b98854629c72
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-27 13:30:14
- date last changed
- 2026-02-02 09:57:36
@article{8aaa0901-0cf2-45e4-8375-b98854629c72,
abstract = {{The role of empathy, the capacity to read someone else’s emotions, in the legal context has previously been studied in relation to primarily judges’ decision-making, often with a concern for objectivity. Our purpose is to study professional emotion management in the legal process through an analysis of Swedish prosecutors’ use of empathy. An ethnographic data collection took place between 2012 and 2015, including shadowing, observations and interviews with 36 prosecutors from 3 prosecution offices. The analysis shows that during the investigation, empathy helps identify the prerequisites of a crime and deciding if and how to prosecute. When preparing for trial, empathy is used to anticipate the situation in court. During the trial, the empathic process includes management of the emotions of others in order to stage credible testimonies, convince the judge and calm victims. The empathic process is oriented and restricted by the emotive–cognitive judicial frame through which prosecutors are rewarded by emotions of comfort and pride in demonstrating expertise of legal coding. We conclude that empathy is integral to prosecutors’ professional performance, including the requirement to be objective. The study points to the problems with silencing emotions and maintaining a positivist notion of objectivity in the legal system.}},
author = {{Wettergren, Åsa and Bergman Blix, Stina}},
issn = {{1404-3858}},
keywords = {{Empathy; objectivity; prosecutors; emotion management; courts; Sweden; Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology); Sociologi (exklusive socialt arbete, socialpsykologi och socialantropologi); Empathy; objectivity; prosecutors; emotion management; courts; Sweden}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{19--35}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention}},
title = {{Empathy and Objectivity in the Legal Procedure : The Case of Swedish Prosecutors}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14043858.2015.1136501}},
doi = {{10.1080/14043858.2015.1136501}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2016}},
}