The discord between policy and practice: defence lawyers’ use of section 718.2 (e) and Gladue

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMcDonald, Rana
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeComack, Elizabeth (Sociology) Bracken, Denis (Social Work)en
dc.contributor.supervisorBrickey, Stephen (Sociology)en
dc.date.accessioned2008-09-13
dc.date.available2008-09-13
dc.date.issued2008-09-13
dc.degree.disciplineSociologyen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts (M.A.)en_US
dc.description.abstractThis study explores the differences (and similarities) between sentencing reform and the legal practices of criminal defence lawyers. This research specifically focuses on Section 718.2 (e) of the Criminal Code, which is aimed at reducing the use of imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders and the application of the section in the Supreme Court’s 1999 decision R .v. Gladue. It investigates whether or not the section and/or Gladue has affected the legal practices of criminal defence lawyers and if so, how. The practice of lawyers, in this study, is conceptualized as structured action. The agency of lawyers is thus constrained and enabled by both macro and micro processes. These include traditional legal ideology, managerial/organizational ideology, presuppositions surrounding Aboriginality as well as the broader socio-political context of neo-liberalism and neo-conservativism. How the practices of defence lawyers either reflect or contradict the section and Gladue is examined through the oral narratives of lawyers—obtained through in-depth semi-structured interviews with twelve defence lawyers. The findings of this analysis show that the vast majority of lawyers were not integrating the section or Gladue in their defence strategies. This suggests that efforts to remedy the issue of Aboriginal over-incarceration need to be aware of the complexity of criminal justice processes, the agency of lawyers and the broader social and political context.en
dc.description.noteOctober 2008en
dc.format.extent952229 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/3084
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectlawyersen
dc.subjectGladueen
dc.subjectAboriginalen
dc.subjectlawen
dc.subjectSection 718.2(e)en
dc.subjectpolicyen
dc.subjectpracticeen
dc.subjectsocio-politicalen
dc.subjectideologyen
dc.subjectagencyen
dc.titleThe discord between policy and practice: defence lawyers’ use of section 718.2 (e) and Gladueen
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
RMcDonald_Masters_Thesis_For_Conversion_MSpace_2008_08_11[1].pdf
Size:
929.91 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.33 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description:
Download
Collections
FGS - Electronic Theses and Practica