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Crime victims have come to play an increasingly important role in the criminal process. One manifestation of this is the proliferation in the use of victim impact statements at sentencing and parole hearings. Across the common law world, victims are allowed to submit an impact statement to a sentencing court or parole board. Many US states go further and encourage (or allow) victims to recommend a specific sentence to the court or to express their views on the release of the offender on parole.

Research into the use of impact evidence at sentencing suggests that victims can benefit from the experience and most who submit impact statements affirm that they would do so again. However, few victims participate in impact statement regimes, which tend to be poorly administered. There is no systematic evidence that impact statements make sentencing harsher.

There is a growing body of research that suggests that the participation of victims is perceived by judges to be beneficial to the sentencing process. There appears to be less or no justification for allowing victim input at parole as victims seldom possess information relevant to the parole decision.

Victim input at corrections would appear to be an example of what has been termed "punitive victim rights" and is inconsistent with sound correctional principles or principles of fundamental justice.

About the speaker

Julian V. Roberts is a Professor of Criminology in the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford. He is Editor in Chief of the European Journal of Criminology and Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He has been a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Justice Canada, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto and the Catholic University of Leuven.

Prior to 1988, Professor Roberts worked for the Department of Justice Canada, the Canadian Sentencing Commission and the University of Toronto. He has authored approximately 150 scholarly articles, book chapters and research reports. He has been qualified as an expert witness in a number of cases and has served as a consultant to many government Departments in Canada and the Home Office in the United Kingdom.

This lecture is generously sponsored by the "Class of 1975" fund.

RSVP Maria Marcheschi before 15 October 2009.

For the record, attendence of this conference provided 1.5 hours of continuing legal education hours to members of the Quebec Bar, as per the Bar's mandatory professional training requirements.