Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

Sofia T. Sepanyan, University of California at Los Angeles (sofia.stepanyan@yahoo.com)Much of the research on juvenile competency to stand trial (CST) has focused on age andintellectual functioning as consistent predictors of competency status. Clinical correlates of CSTstatus, such as psychopathology, diagnostic severity and presence of co-occurring disorders areless understood in young offenders. Only a limited number of studies have focused onpsychiatric disorders (Grisso, 2005) and diagnostic severity (Cowden and McKee, 1995; Vijoen,Roesch, & Zapf) as predictors of juvenile CST status. The current study aimed to investigate theextent to which diagnostic severity and psychiatric comorbidity predict CST status in a sample of324 juvenile participants in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Mental Health Court. Preliminaryanalyses identified that age, intellectual functioning, mental retardation, pervasive developmentaldisorders, mood disorders, substance use disorders and psychotic disorders are significantcorrelates of CST status in young offenders. Given that delinquent populations are at higher riskfor displaying mental and developmental disabilities, improved understanding of therelationships between CST status and mental health conditions is critical and may provideguidance on determining the types of services and rehabilitation programming young offendersmay need to proceed with their legal cases.92. Law and Emotions IEmotions in Lower Court Hearings: Some Sociological ReflectionsStina Bergman Blix, Stockholm University (stina.bergmanblix@sociology.su.se)Submission to the law requires a widely shared trust in the function of the judicial system touphold rational and impartial justice, supposedly presuming non-emotionality. This ideal ischallenged by research indicating that emotions are embedded in most everyday interactions ofbureaucratic and rational organizations. In fact, the conflicts solved in court often stem withemotions. For the participant laymen, the plaintiff and the defendant, the reasons for being incourt have emotional antecedents as well as consequences. For the defence lawyers, prosecutors,and judges the efforts to manage their own emotions as well as the emotions of the involvedlaymen in a way conducive to the dramaturgy of the hearing are essential aspects of the legalproceedings. Granted, it may be a problem that the role of emotional processes in the productionof justice is neither fully recognized nor sufficiently scrutinized. There is a need to know moreabout how this tacit professional competence is acquired and applied. The purpose of this paperis therefore to study the learning and mastery of emotions and emotion management using theexample of the Swedish lower courts. The focus is on the components comprising a process ofprofessionalization regarding emotion work in terms of how they are patterned, emphasized, andevolve over time. Put in more applied terms: which are the feeling and display rules inherent toeach of the role performances involved? How are they learned and sustained individually and asa collective achievement in courtroom interaction?225