Resumo
Across cultures, the courtroom is the site of some of the most overt gendered ceremonies and rituals sanctioned by the state.  It might be argued that there are very few places in which power relations and institutionalised sexism are more inscribed than in the trial.  In this paper Linda would like to look at the ways in which these dynamics are mediated by the physical environment in which the trial takes place.  In contrast to previous studies of the trial which have looked at witnesses, judges, defendants and victims this paper will consider the political function of the spectators in the public trial and the ways in which the activities of spectators have become the focus of increased surveillance and regulation over time.  It will look, in particular, at how such practices have been justified by reference to the emotional or feminine qualities of the those who watch trials.

Nota biográfica
Linda Mulcahy é actualmente Professora na London School of Economics and Political Science, tendo sido até 2009 Anniversary Professor of Law and Society no Birkbeck College, em Londres. tTm como principal área de investigação as questões da Arquitectura judiciária, espaço(s) do direito e a desmaterialização da justiça e julgamento virtual. Interessa-se, ainda, por questões ligadas ao Direito dos contratos e perspectivas feministas, bem como resolução alternativa de litígios. Obras recentemente publicadas: Legal Architecture: Justice, Due Process and the Place of Law,  2010; com Andrews, C., (2010), "Baird v Marks and Spencer ", Feminist Judgments: From Theory to Practice, edited by Rosemary Hunter, Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley, Hart Publishing, Oxford; (2010) ,‘Fortresses, Cathedrals and monuments to law: What does the architecture of the law court tell us about the role of law in society over time?’  Supreme Court History Program Yearbook, edited by Michael White and Aladin Rahemtula, Supreme Court of Queensland, Brisbane pp 43-55; (2009), ‘The unbearable lightness of being – Shifts towards the virtual trial’, Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 35(4) pp.464-489.
 

Nota: Seminário no âmbito do Projecto de Investigação "Arquitectura Judiciária e Acesso ao Direito e à Justiça" ( DECIDe).