Judges and Judging:
Public Confidence and the
Legitimacy of Law
Sharyn Roach Anleu
Kathy Mack
School of Social & Policy Studies
Law School
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, Australia
judicial.research@flinders.edu.au
Public Lecture
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Law School
Strathclyde University, Glasgow
7th April 2011
A judicial officer’s view
It is a difficult job but one that leads to a great deal of
satisfaction if you feel you are performing it as well as you
can. It is not however a job which you should rely on the
gratitude of others nor is it a job for the ambitious. The
constancy of the job can be very wearing over time. There
are few jobs that you are on public ‘display’ 5 hours a day
45 weeks of the year. … The pressure of case loads
seems to impact on the quality of decision making at all
levels. … Some judicial appointments have potentially not
contributed to the standing of the judiciary – but overall the
quality of justice is meeting the demands of contemporary
society – but not perfectly.
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Magistrates Research Project
Judicial Research Project
 Consulting interviews with magistrates in all
states and territories (2001)
 National Survey of Australian Magistrates (2002)
 National Court Observation Study (2004)
 National Survey of Australian Judges (2007)
 Second National Survey of Australian Magistrates
(2007)
 Judicial Workload Allocation Study (2008)
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The Australian court system
High Court of Australia
(n=7)
Federal Court
of Australia
(n=45)
Family Court of
Australia
Supreme Court
(Appeal and Trial)
(n=187)
(n=39)
District/
County Courts
Federal
Magistrates
Court
(n=45)
As at 3 March 2011:
Source: AIJA
(n=221)
Magistrates/
Local Courts
(n=456)
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Women in the Australian judiciary
by court
Women in the Judiciary by Court
100%
90%
Magistrates Courts
District Courts
Commonwealth Courts
All Courts
Supreme Courts
Percentage of women
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2000
2001
2002
Source: AIJA
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Note: no data available for 2003
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The decision to become a
judge/magistrate
 Kind of work
92%
 Intellectual challenge
85%
 Job security
69%
 Value to society
68%
 Diversity of work
65%
Whole Judiciary (n = 540-549)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Satisfaction: Overall work





Importance to the community
Overall work
Level of responsibility
Intellectual challenge
Varied and interesting
97%
92%
91%
87%
86%
Whole Judiciary (n=535-545)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Satisfaction: Working conditions
 Working relations with court staff 92%
 Geographic location
90%
 Working relations with other
judges/magistrates
85%
 Compatibility with lifestyle
77%
 Salary
76%
Whole Judiciary (n=530-540)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Satisfaction
Overall, I’ve enjoyed it. You only find out if
you have an aptitude for it when you
actually do it. Some of the best lawyers find
they can’t make decisions, and their life
becomes hell. I have found I can make
decisions for others, and sleep at night. I’m
one of the lucky ones.
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Flinders University
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Essential skills/qualities for
judicial work
 Impartiality
 Integrity/high ethical standards
 A sense of fairness
 Communication
 Legal knowledge
91%
90%
79%
76%
62%
Whole judiciary (n=546-548)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Flinders University
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Essential interpersonal skills for
judicial work
 Communication
76%
 Being a good listener
56%
 Courtesy
55%
 Patience
50%
 Interpersonal skills
37%
 Compassion
33%
Whole Judiciary (n=543-549)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Stress: Volume of work
Volume of work unrelenting
74%
Judicial functions
 Increased
58%
Non-judicial functions
 Increased
54%
Whole Judiciary (n=488-538)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Legal representation
Legal representatives
are well prepared:
Always/often
My time is taken up
explaining things to
unrepresented litigants:
Always/often
Supreme
Court
(n=111)
District/
County
Court
(n=128)
Magistrates
(n=239- 240)
70%
47%
38%
10%
5%
58%
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Making decisions is very
stressful
Strongly
disagree/
disagree, 35%
Strongly
agree/agree,
38%
Magistrates (n=238)
Neutral, 27%
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Flinders University
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National Court Observation Study
 General criminal list
 30 court sessions
 27 different magistrates
 20 locations
 1,287 matters
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Time per matter
100
Frequency
80
60
40
20
15 second
intervals
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
time (minutes)
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Flinders University
18
20
(n=1,254)
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Time per matter
 5% 15 seconds or less
 25% 1 minute or less
 50% 2 minutes 20 seconds or less
 95% less than 15 minutes
 Average time per matter:
4 minutes, 13 seconds
(n= 1,287)
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Stress: Emotions, sleep, health
Judges
(n=304-305)
Magistrates
(n=239-240)
 My work is emotionally draining
 Always/often
 Sometimes
31%
53%
47%
41%
 Difficult decisions keep me awake
 Sometimes
 Rarely/never
36%
52%
29%
62%
 I am concerned about my health
 Sometimes
 Rarely/never
36%
49%
42%
36%
Source: National Surveys 2007
Judicial Research Project
Flinders University
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Time on domestic work: All
judges by gender
Males (n=382)
54%
60%
Females (n=156)
49%
50%
35%
40%
31%
30%
19%
20%
8%
10%
0%
< 5 hours
5-14 hours
> 15 hours
Whole Judiciary (n=538)
Source: National Surveys 2007
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Flinders University
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Stress and satisfaction
The career extracts its pound/kilos of flesh.
There is very little positive feedback. There
is hardly ever any opportunity to debrief. I
wake in fright at some of the things I hear &
see. Why do I do it? Because I know I
make a difference in some small way.
Because I believe I am privileged. The
people in my court are not.
Source: National Surveys 2007
Judicial Research Project
Flinders University
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Judicial Research Project
 Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant
(DP1096888), 2010-2013.
 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant
(LP0669168), 2006-2009.
 Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant
(DP0665198), 2006-2008.
 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant
(LP210306), 2002-2005 with the Association of Australian
Magistrates (AAM) and all Chief Magistrates and their courts
as industry partners with support from Flinders University as
the host institution.
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Flinders University
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Judicial Research Project
We are grateful to Russell Brewer, Carolyn
Corkindale, Elizabeth Edwards, Ruth Harris,
Julie Henderson, John Horrocks, Lilian
Jacobs, Leigh Kennedy, Lisa Kennedy, Mary
McKenna, Rose Polkinghorne, Wendy
Reimens, Mavis Sansom, Chia-Lung Tai,
Carla Welsh, Rae Wood, and David Wootton
for research and administrative assistance.
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Flinders University
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Selected publications

Roach Anleu, Sharyn & Kathy Mack (2010) 'The Work of the Australian Judiciary:
Public and Judicial Attitudes' Journal of Judicial Administration 3-17.

Roach Anleu, Sharyn & Kathy Mack (2010) 'Trial Courts and Adjudication' in Cane
and Kritzer (eds) Oxford Handbook of Empirical Legal Research, OUP 546-66.

Mack, Kathy & Sharyn Roach Anleu (2010) 'Performing Neutrality: Judicial
Demeanor and Legitimacy' 35(1) Law & Social Inquiry 137-73.

Mack, Kathy & Sharyn Roach Anleu (2010) 'Women in the Australian Judiciary' in
Patricia Easteal (ed), Women and the Law in Australia LexisNexis.

Roach Anleu, Sharyn & Kathy Mack (2009) 'Intersections Between In-Court
Procedures and the Production of Guilty Pleas' 42(1) Australian & New
Zealand Journal of Criminology 1-23.

Roach Anleu, Sharyn & Kathy Mack (2009) 'Gender, Judging and Job Satisfaction'
17(1) Feminist Legal Studies 79-99.
Judicial Research Project
Flinders University
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Judges and Judging:
Public Confidence and the
Legitimacy of Law
Sharyn Roach Anleu
Kathy Mack
School of Social & Policy Studies
Law School
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, Australia
judicial.research@flinders.edu.au
Public Lecture
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Law School
Strathclyde University, Glasgow
7th April 2011