By Lisa Flowers

The digitalisation of courtrooms brings both opportunities and challenges to the judicial process, shaping our understandings of trials and their participants in a myriad of, at times, unexpected ways, and transforming how we participate in, attend, engage with, and consume trials. While digital tools offer potential benefits, they can also impact core aspects of judicial integrity, such as the conduct of legal proceedings and participants’ experiences, as well as introducing additional layers of complexity – sometimes problematic – in how trials are portrayed in popular culture. By exploring these developments, the book highlights the importance of a thoughtful approach to digital integration – one that carefully considers its implications for procedural fairness, public trust, and the perceived legitimacy of the legal system. The author examines the social construction of courts in the digital age, arguing that digitalisation is not merely transforming the tools of justice but also redefining the very essence of the justice experience and reshaping our perceptions of trials and their participants. The work will be a valuable resource for scholars and students in the social sciences, law and all those interested in digitalisation and society.

London; New York: Routledge, 2025. 166p.

By Nick Petersen, Ojmarrh Mitchell, Shi Yan

In recent years, there has been a rise in so-called “progressive prosecutors” focused on criminal justice reforms. Although there has been considerable debate about the relationship between progressive prosecution policies and crime rates, there has been surprisingly little empirical research on the topic. Building on the limited extant research, we examined whether the inauguration of progressive prosecutors in the nation's 100 most populous counties impacted crime rates during a 21-year period (2000 to 2020). After developing an original database of progressive prosecutors in the 100 largest counties, we used heterogeneous difference-in-differences regressions to examine the influence of progressive prosecutors on crime rates. Results show that the inauguration of progressive prosecutors led to statistically higher index property (∼7%) and total crime rates (driven by rising property crimes), and these effects were strongest since 2013—a period with an increasing number of progressive prosecutors. However, violent crime rates generally were not higher after a progressive prosecutor assumed control.

Policy implications

Despite concerns that the election of progressive prosecutors leads to “surging” levels of violence, these findings suggest that progressive-oriented prosecutorial reforms led to relatively higher rates of property crime but had limited impact on rates of violent crime. In fact, in absolute terms, crime rates fell in jurisdictions with traditional and progressive prosecutors. Yet, relative property crime rates were greater after the inauguration of progressive prosecutors. Given that prior research shows progressive prosecutors reduce mass incarceration and racial inequalities, our findings indicate that higher property crime rates may be the price for these advancements.

Criminology & Public Policy Version of Record online: 18 April 2024