The Image of Judges and Courts Perceived by Children

Abstract

A view on law, legislation, law-enforcement institutions and officers formed in childhood may affect personal views and behavior in adulthood. Development of such an image is important aspect of legal socialization process as it may be crucial for law compliance, interaction with law enforcement officers and trust in legal system, etc. The present study was focused at filling the gap in the studies revealing perceived image of judges and courts formed in childhood. 110 boys and 112 girls, aged 7 – 10, participated in the study. To evaluate the image of judges and courts Draw-A-Judge-Test followed by semi-structured interview was used. The results revealed that 7–10-year-olds have a more or less realistic mental picture of judges and their working place. No gender or age differences were revealed comparing both: realism and character of judge image in drawings. Realism of the drawings was related to the source of information about courts and judges. The analysis of verbal responses showed that younger children possess more positive environmental image of a court, while older children have less positive social image of a judge.