Judging images: the making, management and consumption of judicial images

This project will examine the relationship between judges, judgment and visual media. The judge is an important figure in our society, epitomizing key values and virtues associated with good decision making, fairness, justice and legitimate authority. The media and visual media in particular play a crucial role shaping and communicating representations of judges and judging. Studying their content, production, management and consumption provides new opportunities to examine popular and official representations of good judgment, fairness, and legitimate authority. To do this we will bring together a variety of scholars, practitioners and users to open up new debate about how images of judges and judging are managed, made and consumed.
The topic is multi-dimensional. One element is the long but largely neglected history of judicial image making. This ranges from 14th century funeral monuments, to painted portraits, etchings, photographs and most recently screen images. The architecture and theatre of the courtroom central to the staging and performance of judicial authority and judgment are other elements.
24 hour multichannel TV and view on demand facilities now make watching and scrutinizing judges and judgment an intimate, enduring and ever present possibility in the comfort of the home. Some representations are fictional: domestic and imported courtroom drama. Some are factual, the live streaming and YouTube summary judgments of the UK Supreme Court , TV broadcasts of sentencing decisions currently limited to Scotland and footage of real trials mainly from the US. Others, such as reality TV judges, be it 'Judge Judy' or the judges on Strictly Come Dancing, blur fact and fiction. New technologies (mobile phones, tablets, internet platforms) also create potential for new producers of images, such as 'citizen journalists' to enter the field and new ways of viewing.
Television's apparent preoccupation with judges and judgment potentially creates new levels of 'legal knowledge', new confusions and expectations both realistic and unrealistic about the nature and qualities of good judging. Initiatives to improve the quality of representations, redesigning courtrooms, new court communication initiatives, reforms to allow cameras in courts and debates on the media's role in promoting and undermining confidence in courts are all the subject of intense debate.
The time is ripe for a new multidisciplinary engagement with the nature of judicial images, their production, management, and their effect, particularly their capacity to enhance 'openness', achieve greater 'transparency' or promote 'accountability'. Our aim is to explore the how and why of the production and use of such images. The project will involve three themed symposia; image making, image management, image consumption. One key objective is to use these events to build an international network of leading and early career academics from different disciplines such as law, art history, semiotics, media and communications studies to discuss the current state of knowledge and identify methodological innovations for future research. Another is to bring to the network practitioners in the field such as judges, court communications staff, architects, artists, curators and filmmakers from across jurisdictions, organisations and practices to explore the lived experience of production and consumption. We also seek to break away from traditional academic papers to include site visits and active use of visual media to enhance the work of the symposia.
Key practical benefits of this project will include raising stakeholder awareness of the historical and contemporary nature and significance of visual imagery in the communication of ideas about judges, judging and justice. It will contribute to citizen awareness and education. Finally it seeks to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public communications relating to the judiciary and confidence in the judiciary.

A primary goal is to generate widespread stakeholder discussion of the relationship between the justice system and visual media and to prompt changes in the ways stakeholders engage with this interface. In pursuit of its Impact Strategy this project will connect with five groups of actors (a) those who produce images of the judiciary; (b) those whose images are being produced; (c) communications managers and policy makers; (d) the general public and (e) the next generation of lawyers. The impact strategy will aim to challenge the way that lawyers, artists and the public think about, and utilise, legal images.

It is anticipated that this project will enhance the quality of, and debate about, visual languages as they relate to legal subjects within two years of the project start.
1. The Workshops
Judges, commercial visual image makers (film and video, photography, artists, architects), journalists and court communications staff will feature prominently in this project. Practitioners will be central to the setting of agendas for the three planned workshops. Each of the workshops will be designed to facilitate discussion between practitioners and academics and will deliberately seek to explore the interface between their various perspectives and present novel ideas about representation strategies. Visual materials from the seminars will be made available for download on our dedicated website. It is anticipated that these workshop will generate new ideas and ways of thinking about the production of images of the judiciary.
2. Website
The first most enduring output from this project will be a website which will be aimed at all of our target audiences. Materials from the workshops including podcasts, interviews with participants, images and films used by speakers will made accessible through the site. Drawing on their own research the applicants will add to these materials by designing a virtual exhibition of images relating to a variety of different contemporary and historical representations of the judiciary. Visitors to the site will be encouraged to comment on their reaction to the images, make suggestions for additions and to post their own published work there.

Engagement with the exhibition and other materials will be encouraged through two sorts of partnerships. The first will involve collaboration with a group of at least five UK law schools. This will allow the applicants to engage with the next generation of lawyers. The second will involve a partnership with a small group of teachers involved in designing and delivering citizen programmes. It is anticipated that the site and exhibition will provide a valuable resource for teachers and students by providing resources for classes which might focus on issues around legitimacy and authority. To encourage feedback and input into the project Facebook and Twitter facilities will also be linked to the website and the mailing lists of subject associations used to publicise it. Feedback will be monitored and feed into the issues discussed in the final workshop and public lecture. It is hoped that in time the resources provided on the website can be developed with other groups such as the Judicial College.

3. A Public lecture
One of the most important functions of the workshops will be the setting of agendas for future research and dialogue with policy makers. In order to publicise the outcomes of debate the applicants will organise a public lecture which will be held after the workshops. An expert panel comprised of leading members of the judiciary, press, a filmmaker and policy maker will be asked to lead a public debate on an issue which has emerged in the course of the workshops and is likely to capture the public imagination. The LSE events division has considerable experience of hosting events aimed at the public audiences and maximising publicity from them.