Sentencing individuals on cusp-cases: The use of offenders’ backgrounds by Scottish Sheriffs

Abstract

To what extent are accused's backgrounds within the criminal justice system considered during the sentencing process, and if they are, how do judges make sense of them? To better understand this aspect of the sentencing process, this article examines data from interviews with, and observations of, 16 Sheriffs in 14 different Scottish Sheriff Courts. The accused persons’ backgrounds were indeed considered during the sentencing process. However, how Sheriffs constructed their role as sentencers seemed to directly affect how they acknowledged and took them into account.