Victim impact statements and sentencing outcomes and processes - The perspectives of legal professionals

Recent legal reforms requiring vicitm input into sentencing decisions have been controversial. Among the numerous arguments against the reform are cla ims that victim input will have detrimental effects on sentencing outcomes and processes. The present study used qualitative strategies to study the p erspectives of legal professionals and their experiences concerning such pr esumed effects. The database of this study is in-depth interviews of 42 mem bers of the legal profession in South Australia: justices, judges, magistra tes, Crown and police prosecutors and defence lawyers. Several themes in le gal occupational culture as well as organizational forces and dynamics emer ged as explanations for the minor impact of the reform on court outcomes an d processes. The study concluded with a discussion of the way the legal pro fession has circumvented the reform's spirit, and the advantages of qualita tive data to study such issues.