Dr Nina Hudson1
1Independent, Belair, Australia, 2Tasmania Law Reform Institute (UTAS), Hobart, Australia
Biography:
Dr Nina Hudson is a socio-legal and law reform researcher, with expertise in criminal, sentencing, coronial and family violence laws, criminology, legal professional wellbeing, and communication within the law. Nina is a Senior Research Fellow (TLRI, UTAS) and an independent research consultant, with a primary and specialist focus on delivering education and developing resources for judicial officers focusing on voice and language in legal and courtroom communications. She is also the research consultant for the Tasmanian Sentencing Advisory Council’s update project on sentencing young people. Nina has been on the Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Law editorial team since 2016.
Abstract:
This presentation draws on Dr Hudson’s PhD thesis, 'Straight Talking, But From the Heart: Exploring Judicial Court-Craft in Sentencing Offenders for Intimate Partner Violence', and subsequent research applying interdisciplinary, trauma-informed, therapeutic and restorative approaches to communication of the law and potential impacts on individuals and the broader community.
Dr Hudson’s thesis was an empirical study of judicial court-craft in communicating sentencing decisions to intimate partner violence offenders through an original therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) framework. The study addressed a research gap on the potential of TJ to be harnessed in the moment of judicial communication of sentence to intimate partner violence offenders and increase perpetrator accountability and improve community safety. Since then, Dr Hudson has applied the findings of this and other empirical research to deliver judicial education sessions and resources on judicial voice and language in courtroom communications.
This paper explains the interdisciplinary framework Dr Hudson developed and applied in her PhD research in the context of the evidence-base demonstrating the significance and potential impacts of communication approaches within the law. Further, using findings from her quantitative and qualitative analyses, it explores qualities of practice in judicial communication through trauma-informed, therapeutic, and restorative perspectives. Finally, it reflects on the implications of these findings, considering their potential to:
– Inform communication practices of judicial officers and other justice professionals, using an example educational resource Dr Hudson developed in the family violence context;
– Be adapted in future research to develop similar resources in other contexts (eg family law, coronial law).