Meredith Rossner
Biographic Data
| ID | 4421088 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Meredith Rossner |
| GIVEN NAMES | Meredith |
| FAMILY NAME | Rossner |
| SIGNATURE | RÖSSNER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4744-8502 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Virtual court hearings and therapeutic jurisprudence
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about changes to almost every aspect of life. Courts were no exception, with the pandemic dramatically increasing the use of virtual court hearings. This paper explores virtual hearings and their impact on therapeutic approaches to judging, which prioritise connection and engagement between judicial officers and participants. While particularly drawing on the experience in Australia and the United Kingdom, the paper …
Imagining the metaverse court
This article explores the concept of a metaverse courtroom by engaging in an imaginative dialogue between Shakespeare's Hamlet and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash . Using Connolly's method of juxtaposing distinct intellectual traditions, the analysis examines key aspects of justice processes—presence, facework, movement, adversarialism, and evidence presentation—in virtual spaces. Drawing on insights from dramaturgy, the sociology of emotions, and s…
A second chance at life’
Emotions in the metaverse court
As courts evolve to include virtual justice spaces, new opportunities arise to expand our approaches to studying and understanding emotions in these settings. In this article, we explore how to research emotions in virtual courts, including in metaverse courts, where avatars may be embedded in an immersive virtual environment. We begin by laying out key concepts from performance and ritual theories and the sociology of virtual reality, media and …
Danielle Sered, Until we reckon
The Transformative Potential of Restorative Justice
Restorative justice is an idea and a practice that has had a significant impact on criminology over the past four decades and has proliferated throughout the criminal justice system. Yet from the beginning of this movement, there have been worries that the mainstreaming of restorative justice will lead to its dilution, or even corruption, and undermine its transformative potential. Developing alongside the growing institutionalization of restorat…
Restorative justice during and after Covid-19
Restorative justice services and practitioners have not stopped working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, they have adapted their practices and training to be suitable for online, telephone and socially distant delivery. They are also using their skills to provide support for colleagues, students and community members and to offer a path towards healing in the aftermath of the pandemic. This article outlines some activities of restorative jus…
Is now the time for restorative justice for survivors of sexual assault
It is almost a cliché to begin an article on sexual violence by noting the dreadful statistics about its global prevalence and frequency, the huge proportion of survivors that do not access the formal justice system, and the well-known justice gap resulting from failures of criminal justice systems in relation to such cases \n(Cossins, 2020; Lonsway & Archambault, 2012; Temkin & Krahé, 2008). And yet here we are. As each year passes, and the data…
Justice reimagined
While video technology has long been a feature of courtrooms, during the pandemic, courts underwent a seismic shift towards virtual hearings. Physical courtrooms shut their doors and hearings were moved to a virtual space. This transformation was fast, radical, and likely to permanently alter the landscape of justice. In this article, we review the strategies courts in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) adopted in response to the pandemic and …
Presence and participation in a virtual court
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the use of video-mediated justice practices. However, such developments have already been transforming justice over the course of the previous 20 years. Scholars and legal professinals have expressed concerns over how remote appearance in court impacts perceptions of the accused. In this article, we consider some of these concerns and explore the concept of the ‘distributed court’ as a potential rem…
It's about time
This article looks at a methodology that is often neglected in discussions about gathering qualitative data in socio‐legal circles in favour of the ubiquitous semi‐structured interview. We argue that the unstructured interview is underpinned by distinctive ideas about the autonomy of the subject in research and is particularly well suited to the ‘bottom‐up’ approach favoured in much law and society scholarship. The unstructured interview, with it…
Remote rituals in virtual courts
This article examines the ritual dynamics of virtual court hearings. While audio‐visual links for select court participants have been available for decades, in a virtual hearing all parties participate using a videoconferencing platform. Such hearings have proliferated during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as courts around the world have rushed to develop remote justice options. Scholars and legal professionals have expressed a range of concerns about th…
Storytelling Rituals in Jury Deliberations
Research on jury deliberation tends to focus on deliberative outcomes, such as verdict decisions. Less attention is paid to the actual process of deliberation. This paper analyzes a video recording of a mock jury deliberation in a simulated criminal trial, focusing on facial expression, gesture, and discourse. Drawing on ethnomethodology and micro-sociological theories of ritual, I examine how jurors make sense of the evidence presented to them a…
Fergus McNeill, Pervasive Punishment
The Dock on Trial
This article examines the place of the criminal dock in courtroom design. Challenges to the use of the dock have been based upon the inability of the defendants to hear effectively, to communicate with counsel, to maintain their dignity, and to benefit from the presumption of innocence. Increasingly courts are incorporating secure docks, where defendants are partially or completely surrounded by glass (or in some countries, metal bars). To what e…
Digital Evidence in the Jury Room
Wireless technology and mobile devices are transforming the way courts administer justice, with the increasing use of smartphones, iPads and other tablets by practitioners, judges and juries. In the jury room, mobile devices have the potential to simplify the provision and use of information and facilitate more efficient deliberations and overall decision-making. But before such technology can become commonplace in the jury room, courts would ben…
Just Emotions Rituals Of Restorative Justice
This text analyses how restorative justice conferences work as a unique form of justice ritual, with a pioneering new approach to the micro-level study of conferences and recommendations to improve the practice. It examines both failed and successful rituals, and provides and statistical model of the ritual elements and how these may impact reoffending.
The Ritual Elements
This chapter introduces the key theoretical concepts drawing on contemporary sociological theorists of interaction and emotions, including Erving Goffman and Randall Collins. Key terms are explained, such as interaction ritual, solidarity, emotional entrainment, emotional energy, short- and long-term emotions, and symbolic representations. Using this framework, the author proposes a micro level theory of restorative justice. This chapter also exa…
Emotions and Interaction Ritual
Restorative justice has long been touted as an effective and popular alternative to mainstream justice. While most research on the subject measures outcomes and satisfaction after the event, this study uses a video recording of a restorative justice conference to analyse at the micro level the emotional and interactional dynamics at work in transforming an initial situation of anger and anxiety into one marked by displays of solidarity between vi…
Healing Victims and Offenders and Reducing Crime
The current article explores the growing restorative justice movement. It examines promising research indicating that face‐to‐face dialogue with crime victims and offenders may work to restore and heal participants, and reduce recidivism. In addition, the article assesses the current state of restorative justice theory, suggesting new avenues for future theory and research. I show how current thinking about restorative justice can benefit from a …
Emotions and Interaction Ritual
Restorative justice has long been touted as an effective and popular alternative to mainstream justice. While most research on the subject measures outcomes and satisfaction after the event, this study uses a video recording of a restorative justice conference to analyse at the micro level the emotional and interactional dynamics at work in transforming an initial situation of anger and anxiety into one marked by displays of solidarity between vi…
The Dock on Trial
This article examines the place of the criminal dock in courtroom design. Challenges to the use of the dock have been based upon the inability of the defendants to hear effectively, to communicate with counsel, to maintain their dignity, and to benefit from the presumption of innocence. Increasingly courts are incorporating secure docks, where defendants are partially or completely surrounded by glass (or in some countries, metal bars). To what e…
The Transformative Potential of Restorative Justice
Restorative justice is an idea and a practice that has had a significant impact on criminology over the past four decades and has proliferated throughout the criminal justice system. Yet from the beginning of this movement, there have been worries that the mainstreaming of restorative justice will lead to its dilution, or even corruption, and undermine its transformative potential. Developing alongside the growing institutionalization of restorat…
Presence and participation in a virtual court
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the use of video-mediated justice practices. However, such developments have already been transforming justice over the course of the previous 20 years. Scholars and legal professinals have expressed concerns over how remote appearance in court impacts perceptions of the accused. In this article, we consider some of these concerns and explore the concept of the ‘distributed court’ as a potential rem…
Remote rituals in virtual courts
This article examines the ritual dynamics of virtual court hearings. While audio‐visual links for select court participants have been available for decades, in a virtual hearing all parties participate using a videoconferencing platform. Such hearings have proliferated during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as courts around the world have rushed to develop remote justice options. Scholars and legal professionals have expressed a range of concerns about th…
Emotions in the metaverse court
As courts evolve to include virtual justice spaces, new opportunities arise to expand our approaches to studying and understanding emotions in these settings. In this article, we explore how to research emotions in virtual courts, including in metaverse courts, where avatars may be embedded in an immersive virtual environment. We begin by laying out key concepts from performance and ritual theories and the sociology of virtual reality, media and …
Healing Victims and Offenders and Reducing Crime
The current article explores the growing restorative justice movement. It examines promising research indicating that face‐to‐face dialogue with crime victims and offenders may work to restore and heal participants, and reduce recidivism. In addition, the article assesses the current state of restorative justice theory, suggesting new avenues for future theory and research. I show how current thinking about restorative justice can benefit from a …
Healing Victims and Offenders and Reducing Crime
The current article explores the growing restorative justice movement. It examines promising research indicating that face‐to‐face dialogue with crime victims and offenders may work to restore and heal participants, and reduce recidivism. In addition, the article assesses the current state of restorative justice theory, suggesting new avenues for future theory and research. I show how current thinking about restorative justice can benefit from a …
Emotions and Interaction Ritual
Restorative justice has long been touted as an effective and popular alternative to mainstream justice. While most research on the subject measures outcomes and satisfaction after the event, this study uses a video recording of a restorative justice conference to analyse at the micro level the emotional and interactional dynamics at work in transforming an initial situation of anger and anxiety into one marked by displays of solidarity between vi…
Just Emotions Rituals Of Restorative Justice
This text analyses how restorative justice conferences work as a unique form of justice ritual, with a pioneering new approach to the micro-level study of conferences and recommendations to improve the practice. It examines both failed and successful rituals, and provides and statistical model of the ritual elements and how these may impact reoffending.
The Ritual Elements
This chapter introduces the key theoretical concepts drawing on contemporary sociological theorists of interaction and emotions, including Erving Goffman and Randall Collins. Key terms are explained, such as interaction ritual, solidarity, emotional entrainment, emotional energy, short- and long-term emotions, and symbolic representations. Using this framework, the author proposes a micro level theory of restorative justice. This chapter also exa…
Digital Evidence in the Jury Room
Wireless technology and mobile devices are transforming the way courts administer justice, with the increasing use of smartphones, iPads and other tablets by practitioners, judges and juries. In the jury room, mobile devices have the potential to simplify the provision and use of information and facilitate more efficient deliberations and overall decision-making. But before such technology can become commonplace in the jury room, courts would ben…
The Dock on Trial
This article examines the place of the criminal dock in courtroom design. Challenges to the use of the dock have been based upon the inability of the defendants to hear effectively, to communicate with counsel, to maintain their dignity, and to benefit from the presumption of innocence. Increasingly courts are incorporating secure docks, where defendants are partially or completely surrounded by glass (or in some countries, metal bars). To what e…
Storytelling Rituals in Jury Deliberations
Research on jury deliberation tends to focus on deliberative outcomes, such as verdict decisions. Less attention is paid to the actual process of deliberation. This paper analyzes a video recording of a mock jury deliberation in a simulated criminal trial, focusing on facial expression, gesture, and discourse. Drawing on ethnomethodology and micro-sociological theories of ritual, I examine how jurors make sense of the evidence presented to them a…
Fergus McNeill, Pervasive Punishment
Restorative justice during and after Covid-19
Restorative justice services and practitioners have not stopped working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, they have adapted their practices and training to be suitable for online, telephone and socially distant delivery. They are also using their skills to provide support for colleagues, students and community members and to offer a path towards healing in the aftermath of the pandemic. This article outlines some activities of restorative jus…
Is now the time for restorative justice for survivors of sexual assault
It is almost a cliché to begin an article on sexual violence by noting the dreadful statistics about its global prevalence and frequency, the huge proportion of survivors that do not access the formal justice system, and the well-known justice gap resulting from failures of criminal justice systems in relation to such cases \n(Cossins, 2020; Lonsway & Archambault, 2012; Temkin & Krahé, 2008). And yet here we are. As each year passes, and the data…
Justice reimagined
While video technology has long been a feature of courtrooms, during the pandemic, courts underwent a seismic shift towards virtual hearings. Physical courtrooms shut their doors and hearings were moved to a virtual space. This transformation was fast, radical, and likely to permanently alter the landscape of justice. In this article, we review the strategies courts in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) adopted in response to the pandemic and …
Presence and participation in a virtual court
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the use of video-mediated justice practices. However, such developments have already been transforming justice over the course of the previous 20 years. Scholars and legal professinals have expressed concerns over how remote appearance in court impacts perceptions of the accused. In this article, we consider some of these concerns and explore the concept of the ‘distributed court’ as a potential rem…
It's about time
This article looks at a methodology that is often neglected in discussions about gathering qualitative data in socio‐legal circles in favour of the ubiquitous semi‐structured interview. We argue that the unstructured interview is underpinned by distinctive ideas about the autonomy of the subject in research and is particularly well suited to the ‘bottom‐up’ approach favoured in much law and society scholarship. The unstructured interview, with it…
Remote rituals in virtual courts
This article examines the ritual dynamics of virtual court hearings. While audio‐visual links for select court participants have been available for decades, in a virtual hearing all parties participate using a videoconferencing platform. Such hearings have proliferated during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as courts around the world have rushed to develop remote justice options. Scholars and legal professionals have expressed a range of concerns about th…
Danielle Sered, Until we reckon
The Transformative Potential of Restorative Justice
Restorative justice is an idea and a practice that has had a significant impact on criminology over the past four decades and has proliferated throughout the criminal justice system. Yet from the beginning of this movement, there have been worries that the mainstreaming of restorative justice will lead to its dilution, or even corruption, and undermine its transformative potential. Developing alongside the growing institutionalization of restorat…
Imagining the metaverse court
This article explores the concept of a metaverse courtroom by engaging in an imaginative dialogue between Shakespeare's Hamlet and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash . Using Connolly's method of juxtaposing distinct intellectual traditions, the analysis examines key aspects of justice processes—presence, facework, movement, adversarialism, and evidence presentation—in virtual spaces. Drawing on insights from dramaturgy, the sociology of emotions, and s…
A second chance at life’
Emotions in the metaverse court
As courts evolve to include virtual justice spaces, new opportunities arise to expand our approaches to studying and understanding emotions in these settings. In this article, we explore how to research emotions in virtual courts, including in metaverse courts, where avatars may be embedded in an immersive virtual environment. We begin by laying out key concepts from performance and ritual theories and the sociology of virtual reality, media and …
Virtual court hearings and therapeutic jurisprudence
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about changes to almost every aspect of life. Courts were no exception, with the pandemic dramatically increasing the use of virtual court hearings. This paper explores virtual hearings and their impact on therapeutic approaches to judging, which prioritise connection and engagement between judicial officers and participants. While particularly drawing on the experience in Australia and the United Kingdom, the paper …
Law (11 works) · Law in Society and Culture (11 works) · Political science (11 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Criminology (10 works) · Economic Justice (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (6 works)