Miha Hafner, Emotion and Criminal Law

Emotions and Adjudication

Miha Hafner, Emotion and Criminal Law

This lecture deals with the relevance of emotion in the criminal law decision-making. It reviews how (moral) emotions are integrated into the general decision-making process and how they may influence legal reasoning. The lecture also touches upon the problems of research on the role of emotions in legal decision-making. Finally, it also addresses the ambiguous role of empathy therein. The second part of the lecture on emotion in criminal law discusses emotions as normative elements of criminal law norms. It illuminates how emotions represent prominent elements of many substantive and procedural criminal law rules and their underpinnings. In conclusion, also the socio-legal perspective on emotions in criminal justice is presented.

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Emotions and Criminal Law (1)

1 / 3

Employing empathy in judging…

…is generally positive if it is not applied selectively.

…is always detrimental as it opens possibility for judicial bias.

…is always beneficial as it enables judges to take different perspectives.

2 / 3

Which of the following assertions is most accurate?

Research shows that emotion affects legal decision making of professional jurists and lay people in the same way.

Research shows that emotion has different impact on different groups of professional legal decision makers.

Research shows that emotion influences legal decisions of lay decision makers but not those of professional jurists.

3 / 3

It is typical for moral emotions that they…

…always pursuit interests of the person experiencing them.

…are only evoked by morally praiseworthy situations.

… incite people to follow social rules.

Your score is

0

Emotions and Criminal Law (2)

1 / 3

Emotion management in court…

only serves the purpose of manipulating other trial participants.

only serves the purpose of a judge to conceal her own unwanted emotions from the public.

is a tool for a jurist to regulate her own emotions and to influence other participants in court.

2 / 3

Which pair of the following criminal law elements does not have any direct connection to emotion?

restorative justice, act of clemency

right to appeal, exclusion of evidence

victim impact statement, oath

3 / 3

Which claim best describes the role of emotions in substantive criminal law norms?

Emotions are never included in the criminal law norms as this would be contrary to the principle of legality.

The only rules that explicitly include emotions are rules on sentencing.

Emotions may be included in constitutive elements of criminal offences, rules on sentencing, and rules on culpability.

Your score is

Emotions and Adjudication

Miha Hafner, Emotion and Criminal Law

Lecture Part 1

Part 2

Quiz 1

Quiz 2