"If the judiciary were real people ..." : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'

Selda Dagistanli

"If the judiciary were real people ..." : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper

Abstract

![CDATA[In times of moral panic, political and media portrayals of the judiciary as ‘out of touch’, unresponsive and unaccountable are unrelenting. Such portrayals are accompanied and fuelled by a consistent public clamour for escalation of sentence severity and policies to reflect this. This paper will seek to clarify the reflexive process through which a demonstrated lack of confidence in the judicial system during times of social anxiety prompts judicial responses to public demands. The aim here is to, in theory, isolate – as much as possible – the role of the judiciary in moral panics through an exploration of the tension between judicial discretion and politically driven, populist legislative imperatives. The empirical content of this paper examines reportage and trials concerning two specific incidents in South-Western Sydney, perpetrated by a group of Lebanese-Australian youths in 2000, and four brothers – Pakistani Immigrant Muslims in 2002.]]

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Scholarship and Community: Papers presented at the College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Inaugural Research Conference, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus, 7 to 9 October 2005
Publisher	University of Western Sydney
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Print)	1741081270
Publication status	Published - 2005
Event	University of Western Sydney. College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Research Conference - Duration: 1 Jan 2005 → …

Conference

Conference	University of Western Sydney. College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Research Conference
Period	1/01/05 → …

Keywords

social problems in mass media
ethnic groups
Australia
moral panics
crime
Western Sydney (N.S.W.)
courts
New South Wales
urban living
sentences (criminal procedure)
Centre for Western Sydney

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Cite this

@inproceedings{3c05f2b7d18d4077816c057f168eba9a,

title = "{"}If the judiciary were real people ...{"} : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'",

abstract = "![CDATA[In times of moral panic, political and media portrayals of the judiciary as {\textquoteleft}out of touch{\textquoteright}, unresponsive and unaccountable are unrelenting. Such portrayals are accompanied and fuelled by a consistent public clamour for escalation of sentence severity and policies to reflect this. This paper will seek to clarify the reflexive process through which a demonstrated lack of confidence in the judicial system during times of social anxiety prompts judicial responses to public demands. The aim here is to, in theory, isolate – as much as possible – the role of the judiciary in moral panics through an exploration of the tension between judicial discretion and politically driven, populist legislative imperatives. The empirical content of this paper examines reportage and trials concerning two specific incidents in South-Western Sydney, perpetrated by a group of Lebanese-Australian youths in 2000, and four brothers – Pakistani Immigrant Muslims in 2002.]]",

keywords = "social problems in mass media, ethnic groups, Australia, moral panics, crime, Western Sydney (N.S.W.), courts, New South Wales, urban living, sentences (criminal procedure), Centre for Western Sydney",

author = "Selda Dagistanli",

year = "2005",

language = "English",

isbn = "1741081270",

booktitle = "Scholarship and Community: Papers presented at the College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Inaugural Research Conference, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus, 7 to 9 October 2005",

publisher = "University of Western Sydney",

note = "University of Western Sydney. College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Research Conference ; Conference date: 01-01-2005",

}

Dagistanli, S 2005, "If the judiciary were real people ..." : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'. in Scholarship and Community: Papers presented at the College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Inaugural Research Conference, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus, 7 to 9 October 2005. University of Western Sydney, University of Western Sydney. College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Research Conference, 1/01/05.

"If the judiciary were real people ..." : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'. / Dagistanli, Selda.
Scholarship and Community: Papers presented at the College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Inaugural Research Conference, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus, 7 to 9 October 2005. University of Western Sydney, 2005.

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference Paper › Conference Paper

TY - GEN

T1 - "If the judiciary were real people ..." : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'

AU - Dagistanli, Selda

PY - 2005

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AB - ![CDATA[In times of moral panic, political and media portrayals of the judiciary as ‘out of touch’, unresponsive and unaccountable are unrelenting. Such portrayals are accompanied and fuelled by a consistent public clamour for escalation of sentence severity and policies to reflect this. This paper will seek to clarify the reflexive process through which a demonstrated lack of confidence in the judicial system during times of social anxiety prompts judicial responses to public demands. The aim here is to, in theory, isolate – as much as possible – the role of the judiciary in moral panics through an exploration of the tension between judicial discretion and politically driven, populist legislative imperatives. The empirical content of this paper examines reportage and trials concerning two specific incidents in South-Western Sydney, perpetrated by a group of Lebanese-Australian youths in 2000, and four brothers – Pakistani Immigrant Muslims in 2002.]]

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KW - ethnic groups

KW - Australia

KW - moral panics

KW - crime

KW - Western Sydney (N.S.W.)

KW - courts

KW - New South Wales

KW - urban living

KW - sentences (criminal procedure)

KW - Centre for Western Sydney

UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/40589

M3 - Conference Paper

SN - 1741081270

BT - Scholarship and Community: Papers presented at the College of Arts, Education and Social Sciences Inaugural Research Conference, University of Western Sydney, Bankstown Campus, 7 to 9 October 2005

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"If the judiciary were real people ..." : the impact of moral panic on the sentencing of 'Arab gang rapists'

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

UN SDGs

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