Sentencing hearings and video biographies

There was considerable controversy following the recent sentencing hearing of a convicted rapist in Sydney. Several well-known people provided glowing character references for the offender, provoking criticisms of their support:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-barristers-slam-pru-goward-for-criticising-glowing-references-for-rapist-luke-lazarus-20150407-1me2ti.html

In the US, video production houses are seeking to create flattering biographical videos for presentation in court:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/nyregion/defendants-using-biographical-videos-to-show-judges-another-side-at-sentencing.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

Apparently this service has been offered to well-healed customers for some time. Rich defendants can expect elegant, well produced and professionally edited footage to show them in the best possible light, prior to sentencing. Now some video makers are endeavouring to make this potent visual material accessible to the less affluent in society. The nonprofit Silicon Valley De-Bug is a criminal justice group that is seeking to produce biographical videos for poorer defendants, to address the inequality of arms - and of production values.

http://fusion.net/story/41931/inside-the-prison-systems-illicit-digital-world/

Criminal justice proceedings may be increasingly technologised, yet daily life in most prisons is conducted in a technological void. Digital connectivity is much sought after, and this article explores illicit communication technologies, mobile phones as contraband in prison, and prisoners' 'inventiveness' in accessing the outside world. Prisons have been 'technological dead zones' where prisoners are limited to landline phones. Long term prisoners may leave the system poorly equipped to engage with communication technologies, and this article questions whether it is a form of cruelty to  deny prisoners access to the digital universe: 

'or should his virtual self be imprisoned too?'

Life-sized screens in virtual courtroom

A mock trial in a virtual courtroom was apparently conducted last week using life-sized video screens. The arrangement of life-sized screens in the courtroom sought to create an immersive environment.

Such technology may represent some improvement, although it still focuses on the visual aspects of legal procedure while ignoring the significance of the other senses.

http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/news/16538-trial-by-immersive-video-link-a-world-first

I've been writing about these issues in a draft journal article submission 'Video links from prison: phenomenology and carceral space' - and in my thesis of course - from the perspective of prisoners and their experience of  video technologies from prison.

The courtroom endpoint of video technology is very, very different from the prison endpoint.

Et Mon Droit

The more I immerse myself in my research, the more I find interesting groups of academics and arts practitioners who engage with both the visual and the law. For example, the Judicial Images project draws together people and resources regarding the potency of the visual image in law, and its symbolic role in legitimising power. The project 'explores how official and unofficial images of the judiciary are created, managed and consumed.' For more on that project, go to:

http://judicialimages.org

Similarly, it's always wonderful to find exhibitions that deal with the intersections between contemporary art and the law. 'Et Mon Droit' re-contextualises the heraldic motto 'Dieu et mon droit' that adorns English and Australian courtrooms. The artists explore the abbreviated motto to subvert legality and its fixed structure. The exhibition runs from 28 May - 11 July 2015 at Copperfield, London.

For more information, head to:
http://www.copperfieldgallery.com/et-mon-droit.html