Do Fair Procedures Matter? The Effect of Procedural Justice on Spouse Assault

Abstract

In a reanalysis of the Milwaukee Domestic Violence Experiment, we examine whether the use of fair procedures on the part of police officers called to the scene of a domestic assault inhibits subsequent assault. Consistent with expectations, we found that procedural justice did suppress subsequent violence, even in the face of adverse outcomes. When police acted in a procedurally fair manner when arresting assault suspects, the rate of subsequent domestic violence was significantly lower than when they did not. Moreover, suspects who were arrested and perceived that they were treated in a procedurally fair manner had subsequent assault rates that were as low as those suspects given a more favorable outcome (warned and then released without arrest). The suppression effect of procedural justice did not depend on the personal characteristics of suspects.

Legal Socialization of Children and Adolescents

“…Rather, we assume that these experiences carry with them an affective or emotional component that animates views about the legitimacy of the law, cynicism toward it, or a disengagement from the law's moral underpinnings. While fair treatment may enhance evaluations of the law, poor treatment may arouse negative reactions or even anger leading to defiance of the law's norms (Paternoster et al, 1997;Sherman, 1993). This would suggest that procedural justice exerts both direct effects on compliance with the law as well as indirect effects by shaping evaluations of the law's legitimacy.…”

“…It counteracts labeling processes that are marginalizing and stigmatizing (Braithwaite, 1989). Tyler (1990) and several other studies report that fair treatment was positively related to law abiding behavior among both younger and older adults (see Paternoster et al, 1997, for a review). In developmental terms, fair treatment strengthens ties and attachments to the laws and social norms, as well as group membership.…”

“…Such procedural justice judgments are found to both shape reactions to personal experiences with legal authorities (Paternoster et al, 1997;Tyler, 1990;Tyler and Huo, 2002) and to be important in assessments based upon the general activities of the police (Sunshine and Tyler, 2003;Tyler, 1990). In both cases, adults…”

“…These measures have proven to be robust predictors of legal compliance under a wide range of sampling and measurement conditions including general population surveys, criminal justice defendants, mediation and arbitration participants, persons filing workplace grievances, and participants in tort litigation (Tyler and Lind, 1992: 124-37). These measures have only recently been extended to persons in the criminal justice system (Paternoster et al, 1997) and to adolescents. For this sample of children and adolescents, we limited these interactions to three domains: interactions with police officers, school disciplinary personnel, and private security personnel.…”

“…We adopted measures used by Lind, MacCoun et al (1989, cited in Tyler andLind, 1992), and Paternoster et al (1997) to assess procedural justice. The subscales are based on their recent encounters with legal actors (e.g., ethicality, fairness, representation, consistency, respect, and correctability).…”