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                            Library & Multimedia
 "Satan's Minions" and "True Believers": How Criminal Defense Attorneys Employ Quasi-Religious Rhetoric and What It Suggests about Lawyering Culture
NCJ Number
              304815
Journal

*Justice System Journal* Volume: Online Dated: April 2022
Author(s)
          Elizabeth Webster;
                        Kathleen Powell;
                        Sarah E. Lageson;
                        Valerio Baćak
Date Published

April 2022
Annotation
              We examine attorneys’ language – specifically, attorneys’ quasi-religious rhetoric – to better understand courtroom dynamics: how attorneys see themselves, their work, their colleagues, and their legal adversaries.
Abstract
              The notion of law as sacred, and lawyers as righteous saviors, may seem anachronistic in the current context of heavy caseloads and expedited processing in the criminal justice system. Nevertheless, language reflecting these ideals still permeates defense attorneys’ descriptions of their roles, their legal practice, and their relationships to their colleagues and adversaries. In the current analysis of semi-structured interviews with 30 defense attorneys, we find that attorneys use of quasi-religious rhetoric manifests as a cultural practice that helps to establish and maintain professional identities, boundaries, and relationships. Our findings also suggest that young and novice public defenders are likely to express especially zealous views, which may compromise their efforts to collaborate within the adversarial system, as well as contribute to burnout. (Publisher Abstract Provided)
      
  
          Additional Details
Grant Number(s)
        2017-IJ-CX-0012


  
  
        
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  Publication Type
        Research (Applied/Empirical)


  
  
        
  Award
        A Post-Conviction Mentality: Prosecutorial Assistance as a Pathway to Exoneration
    
  
  
Date Published: April 1, 2022
    
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