Bull, R., & Carson, D. (Eds.) (1995). Handbook of psychology in legal contexts. Chichester: Wiley.

Chapter 1.3 Law's Premises, Methods and Values

, David Carson University of Southampton

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It cannot, meaningfully, be claimed that the study of law has a longer history than the study of behaviour. However, the formalised study of law, in universities and similar institutions, certainly has a much longer history than the study of psychology. Closely associated with this is the differential role, significance and appeal of tradition, plus the differential distribution of status, between the two disciplines and professions. Generally speaking, the law, its study and practice, is perceived as a more socially prestigious activity. Even in the allegedly more egalitarian USA, law professors are paid on higher scales than their other non-medical colleagues. It is proclaimed to be a success or advance when some psychologists are appointed to law departments (Melton, Monahan and Saks, 1987; Losel, 1992). Why should we not seek the appointment of lawyers in psychology departments? Indeed, particularly in some continental European countries, the prestige and perceived power of lawyers, practising and academic, is considered to be an obstacle to the development of work in law and psychology. (Unfortunately neither of these 'problems', higher pay and social esteem, are experienced by academic lawyers in the UK!) Tradition is important to lawyers. It is observable not just in the continued use of outdated courtroom clothes and modes of address. Such clothes and terminology would, surely, lead to rich laughter were not lawyers, aided and abetted by media representations, so successful in maintaining a hegemony of ideas and assumptions held by members of the public (Bankowski and Mungham, 1976). These particular customs may be most dramatic in the UK but they exist in most jurisdictions. Superficially such traditions might appear relatively unimportant, indeed endearing. However, the uncritical manner in which they are justified is significant. For example, it is often asserted that a formal and dignified atmosphere in a courtroom, with witnesses in awe of the setting and dramatis personae, is an aid to truth-telling by witnesses. The

Handbook of Psychology in Legal Contexts Edited by R. Bull and D. Carson. 1995 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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failure to consider it necessary to question or to test such propositions is very significant. But much more significant are lawyers' traditional and 'working' modes of thought. Here, it is submitted, is the source of many of the past, present and future problems for co-operation and collaboration between lawyers and psychologists. This chapter will try to draw out a number of the values, premises and working methods of lawyers that could cause problems for the inter-disciplinary development of law and psychology.

in which freedom has obtained an impersonal, theoretical existence that is independent of any arbitrary individual. Its law book is a people's bible of freedom. (McLellan, 1976) If laws have essential characteristics, then individual rules and laws can be judged against them. If these features can be discovered then appeal or constitutional courts may use them to invalidate offending 'laws' and prevent governments from exceeding their proper jurisdiction. Others insist that the defining characteristics of a law is the process by which it was enacted. If it followed the pre-stated procedure then, irrespective of its contents, it is a valid law. It involves adopting a positivistic theory of knowledge similar to that called in aid by empiricists. The only laws that exist are those that have been stated by a legislature or which arise from another accepted source such as, in a common law system, judges' decisions. It facilitates the drawing of a distinction between law and politics, between the study or application of rules and the approval or disapproval of their contents. Just as some scientists argue when working in areas which have military applications that they do not involve approval of militaristic values, so working on or applying any law is not perceived by these lawyers to be a political activity. Being a lawyer is associated with being a technician, a value-free activity. Law reform, perhaps more so in the UK than the USA, is perceived by these lawyers as being an 'after-hours' activity.

LAWYERS' SEARCH FOR JUSTICE

The long tradition of scholarship in law has, naturally, led to a substantial body of legal philosophy wherein some basic questions about the nature, purpose and role of law have been posed. The breadth, and depth, of this work, and its reflection in legal education which helps to socialise future generations of lawyers, begins to explain lawyers' relative lack of interest in behavioural science topics. The detailed content of the different theories and positions, regarding the nature of law and justice, can be discovered from most student texts. Here the purpose is to highlight features of lawyers' reasoning. A common theme is the essence of law and justice. For many people there are certain 'truths', revealed in different ways. For example, different countries' constitutions declare certain propositions to be beyond challenge, inalienable. The Constitution of the USA declares certain truths to be self-evident. Certain propositions, for example that a constitution is a manifestation of the will of the people, defy empirical verification. Doubtless such a test was never envisaged. The appeal of the declaration is to senses other than reason. Arguably similar are the declarations of basic rights, such as the European Convention on Human Rights. They gain 'legal' authority, so as to become enforceable, if and when they are adopted by a legislature. But they also have an appeal and authority arising from their reference to apparently universal principles, applicable at all times and in all countries. Not surprisingly many lawyers are keen to encourage the articulation of such statements. Sometimes the 'intellectual power' or authority of the document arises from 'reason'; it is asserted to be self-evident, for example, that continued use of the world's natural resources, on current scales, is unsustainable. At other times their power arises from sympathy with the implicit values or philosophy, which may be religious in character. If there are 'basic truths' then, the argument runs, they cannot be overridden by any other laws. Many lawyers share the widespread belief that there are certain 'natural' or fundamental laws. Even the young Karl Marx, for instance, argued that: Laws are not rules that repress freedom any more than the law of gravity is a law that represses movement... laws are rather positive lights, general norms,

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Law as a Value-free Activity

This law versus politics dichotomy is an important point for the future of law and psychology. A psychologist, for example, would regard the adoption of a new, improved, procedure or test, say for assessing a feature of a client, as a natural and necessary part of the job. For psychologists, as others, challenging and improving the content of and way in which the job is performed is an integral part of the task. However, the practising lawyer must keep using the law for so long as it is the law and whatever his or her opinion of it may be. There may be a consensus that the law is inappropriate, outdated or bad, but the lawyer, as technician, must keep using it, working to it. Of course if the lawyer has a new tactic for questioning witnesses, drafting contracts, avoiding or minimising a client's tax liability, then he or she must be expected to use it. But the law, itself, is seen and treated as a 'given'. Psychology is not given in any similar sense, however well established certain propositions may be. Lawyers, for example, might agree that the examination of child witnesses in open court can traumatise them, is inefficient in generating information about and provides a poor guide as to their credibility (Spencer and Flin, 1993; Graffam Walker, 1994). But they have to operate within that system, until it is changed. If they are representing an alleged child abuser then they must be expected to take advantage of the opportunities that the system offers for

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undermining the accusing child's credibility. They will utilise their belief in the law as a neutral 'technology', will argue that they are only doing their job which, in the context of the system, is non-political. If it is in their client's interests to have separate trials, then they must be expected; indeed, in the terms of the system they are operating, they should be praised when they achieve this, even if it means that one jury fails to get a full picture of the case against the defendant. Note the extent to which law involves a culture of criticism. Trials, civil or criminal, usually only involve two sides and two sets of lawyers. A base-rate probability of 50 per cent failure in trials has to be managed by the lawyers themselves and rationalised to their clients. Appeals against judges' decisions are not rare events but rather are structured into the legal system. Is there any other occupation which so regularly and systematically encourages criticism via appeals? Whilst an appeal court's criticisms may be couched in polite and circumspect language it is performed in public and involves disagreeing with at least one judge or a trial lawyer. Thus lawyers may reasonably feel, and argue, that the legal system is open and accountable in a way that few other occupations are. The argument is not that they become blase about criticism but that further criticism may be considered inappropriate or misguided. Challenging other lawyers, fighting with words and arguments, is part of the art and the skills of being a lawyer (Evans, 1983). Further, not taking those challenges and criticisms to heart, not letting what is said in court affect personal feelings and relationships is also a prized quality. It is professional for lawyers to challenge each other vigorously and then, just as if a switch had been pressed, once the trial is decided or adjourned, to be open and friendly to professional colleagues. To prevent this antagonism, challenge and criticism from undermining self-esteem and self-justification, lawyers need to be able to rationalise their work. Such beliefs as the duty upon lawyers (indeed the requirement of justice), to do their very best for their client, even if they believe their client to be guilty of a heinous crime (but do not actually know him or her to be guilty) need to be firmly believed in if the defence lawyer is not to feel guilty for being successful in a criminal defence. Thus, it is submitted, lawyers should be expected to be, at the very least, wary or biased against reform proposals which threaten to undermine their self-justifications. Lawyers, like everyone else, need to be able to rationalise or justify their behaviour. It should not be surprising that they are antagonistic to other disciplines which criticise them even when they are operating existing law. Such criticisms are liable to be considered misconceived or misinformed. A great deal is at stake for lawyers. For example, an inter-disciplinary committee drew attention to 'the wide-ranging challenge to traditional notions of evidence posed by the advance in psychology' but, nevertheless, went on to make recommendations which it felt would not be too extreme for practising lawyers (Oddie, 1991). Law in Practice

Related to this, it is submitted, is the tendency for lawyers not to be satisfied by criticism of a law, practice or procedure. Criticism of an existing provision is insufficient; they like to see alternatives posed and assessed. So it is not enough to criticise current law and practice, say on the questioning of child witnesses. An alternative must be suggested so that it can be compared to see if it is preferable. Of course a lot of value judgements are involved in determining what constitutes 'better' and these issues are frequently left unstated. Lawyers' 'research' papers, on law reform topics, often involve the outline of an alternative system with a suggestion that it would be preferable. Editors and referees of law journals rarely require that the value judgement issues are made explicit or that criticisms or assertions are empirically verified. Lawyers, particularly in the UK, are able to promote law reform with remarkable ease. The Law Commission for England and Wales is chaired by a senior judge, and has practising and academic lawyers as members. There appears to be no perceived need for, or value in having, a commissioner with a background in the behavioural sciences or skilled in assessing research methodology. Papers, authored jointly by a psychologist and a lawyer and conforming to the methods and expectations of both audiences, might be more successful in impressing lawyers and politicians into making changes.

One rebellion against the positivistic emphasis upon the 'law in books' is the realist tradition. Does it matter what the law in the books is, if it is not applied in practice? The 'real' law, realists would argue, concerns what judges and other law enforcement agencies actually do. Note that, in this approach, the contribution of other legal decision-makers is recognised. If the police operate a 10 per cent margin on speeding offences then the maximum on this road is not 50 but 55 miles per hour. Law students should be taught not what the books say ought to happen but what the research and experience indicates actually happens. Fear of having your name printed in a newspaper may be a more effective disincentive to the commission of crime than standard punishments. The judge's mood may be a more reliable and significant factor in predicting his or her decisions than the precedent decisions. Legal skills concern the ability to predict the decisions of judges and others. The realist emphasis on prediction supports an interest in the social and behavioural sciences as they aid the description and analysis of law officials' behaviour. This, it may be argued, has been a major influence upon the development of law and psychology in North America (Monahan and Walker, 1994). It may also in part explain the relative lack of development of law and psychology in the UK as the realist approach has much stronger associations with the USA than the UK. It may also involve a reflection of the different arrangements for legal education. In the UK most new lawyers take a three-year law degree as soon as they have left school, followed by

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professional training. Thus they can become practising lawyers without having studied any social or behavioural sciences other than that studied at school up to the age of 18. In the USA law is a postgraduate subject so that law students will already have studied other subjects at university as part of their Bachelor's degree. These will often include psychology. While law schools are still dominated by 'black letter' lawyers, whose primary interest is in the collation, analysis and restatement of verbally formulated rules, virtually all will have some staff interested in socio-legal studies. Indeed the character of a law school can, substantially, be determined by the proportion swearing allegiance to a socio-legal approach to research and/or teaching. Many lawyers would characterise socio-legal studies as including an interest in the psychological implications of law (e.g. Lloyd-Bostock, 1981). It would be seen as a sub-set of the wider concept which would include politics (e.g. Podmore, 1977), history, anthropology (e.g. Snyder, 1981), economics (e.g. Veljanovski, 1980), indeed linguistics (e.g. Goodrich, 1984), geography (e.g. Economides, Blacksell and Watkins, 1986) and psychiatry (e.g. Fennell, 1986) as well as the sociology of law (e.g. Cotterrell, 1986). However, the vast majority of those lawyers interested in socio-legal studies, at least in the UK, are interested in the sociological and political rather than the psychological implications of law. The interest is in social theories and explanations rather than individualistic. The interpretativist epistemologies implicit in realist and socio-legal approaches to law is important. The law is not perceived as politically neutral or independent of observation and choice. All actors, including judges, are making choices although they may be circumscribed. Interpreting and applying the law is neither a mechanical nor a neutral activity. Factual situations are ambiguous and have to be constructed and interpreted. Note, however, that law schools and legal education remains dominated by cognitive studies of information. Research findings, say on eye-witness testimony, may find their way into 'liberal' texts on evidence. But, despite the realist and socio-legal movements, the emphasis remains upon rule, rather than fact, finding. The bulk of a practising lawyer's time and effort will be spent in determining the facts rather than the law; but this is still not reflected in legal education or law books (for an exception, see Anderson and Twining, 1991). Emphasis upon practical skills, other than appeal court argument, is a relatively novel development in legal education, especially in the UK (Macfarlane, 1992). Why are lawyers not being taught how to interview witnesses and clients in a manner which will produce plenty of reliable information for them? In straightforward terms of gaining instrumental skills lawyers could learn much from psychologists, even if the limits of current knowledge, and need for further research, kept being emphasised. The socio-legal movement is related to interests in criminology and concern

over criminal justice issues. In this context it is also noteworthy that psychologists have been prominent in the current reaction against the 'nothing works' school of thought about crime and recidivism (e.g. Blackburn, 1993). This, particularly given lawyers' interest in being able to recommend positive alternatives to custodial sentences, for individual clients, should provide another means whereby psychologists' contributions are demonstrated to be of instrumental value to lawyers (Berry, 1993). Then, flowing from but involving a recognition of the perceived inadequacies of the realist and socio-legal approaches (Kelman, 1987), recent decades have demonstrated a growing interest in critical legal studies which: draws heavily on the radical political culture of the period since the 1960s. It asserts the inescapability of commitment and rejects the aspiration of the preceding intellectual climate's search for value neutrality. ... Critical legal studies seeks to provide an environment in which radical and committed scholarship can thrive in diversity with no aspiration to lay down a 'correct' theory or method. (Fitzpatrick and Hunt, 1987, p. 1) This is a full-frontal assault upon the belief that law and politics, and all other normative systems, are separate entities which can and should be kept separate. Obviously it causes problems for many more-traditional lawyers. It also involves a fundamental attack on the perceived hierarchical and indoctrinating nature of legal education (e.g. Kennedy, 1982). Critical approaches to legal education would encourage students to observe the ideological nature of law and how it is just one system of ought statements among many others, although it has achieved much greater power substantially by obfuscating the nature of the interests being protected. Because it stresses the absence of value neutrality and the necessarily political nature of the manner in which social and other problems that may be the subject of research are perceived, there would appear to be little opportunity for collaboration between psychologists and lawyers if a critical law framework was involved. Critical legal theory can be very negative and nihilistic; there is no such thing as 'truth' so why search for it? But, it is submitted, this is not necessarily the case. Critical theory professes to be very democratic, seeking to involve people in real decision-making, and it requires that the value assumptions, in so far as people are aware of them, are explicit, are 'up front' (see Kairys, 1982). Are these not values and objectives with which many others can identify? Working with, say, a prisoner or patient, many of the value assumptions could be made explicit and the client involved more in the choices available, recognising of course both that the service provider may not be able to allow certain choices, for example releasing a prisoner, and that many choices, and the ability to choose, will be artificial or false in that there is rarely full and complete freedom of choice. Through its denial of 'objective truths' critical law theory could also prove valuable in reminding both psychologists

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and lawyers that research is immanent, is always developing. In these senses critical legal theory can prove a valuable corrective although it must be recognised that most, if not all, critical law scholars would condemn this attempt to abstract a few key ideas into the beginnings of a method.

example, the recoverability of forgotten memories and the practitioner psychologist who is concerned with helping an individual client. Working in courts is only one of many actual, and potential, roles for lawyers. When they appear in court they must, naturally enough, manipulate (which need not be interpreted as a critical term) the system. When operating in that mode such characteristic forms of reasoning must be expected. But it does not follow that such reasoning is utilised in other contexts. Lawyers, not just critical theory lawyers, can recognise the relativity of many concepts. The important variable is the closeness of the individual lawyer to practical applications of the law. Other characteristics of lawyers' reasoning may be more important in practice. For example, there is the emphasis upon persuasion rather than deductive or inductive logic (Hart, 1963). The oral tradition of the law has been significant. That a proposition sounds reasonable, with or without the suggestive power of being labelled 'reasonable', is regularly accepted as a justification for a decision. It does not, for example, sound reasonable to most lawyers that the Blue Taxi Company should pay compensation to the victim of an accident just because the victim is certain that it was a taxi, but cannot recall whether it was blue or green, and the Blue Taxi Company owns 80 per cent of the taxis in that remote town to the Green Taxi Firm's 20 per cent. However, add one more piece of particularistic evidence, suggestive that it was a blue taxi, and now most lawyers will find the conclusion reasonable, on the available evidence. The tendency of lawyers to reify goes beyond the use of colourful language. Many lawyers treat concepts as if they actually exist. For example the 'rule of law' is a neat phrase for articulating a system whereby pre-stated rules determine officials', including judges', behaviour. It is seen as preferable to a system where, for example, there is dependence upon the goodwill and discretion of someone to make decisions which need not follow any rule or other pattern. But it is just an idea, a preference. However, as with other examples, many lawyers can be heard treating the expression as if it actually referred to something concrete. 'Justice' is an ideal or aspiration and yet we are used to hearing and seeing it referred to as a distinct entity, indeed sometimes as having a corporeal form and gender. This kind of reification is dangerous because it closes off debate about the concept. What is the essence of justice? Why should it be blind? Does it include a requirement of equal opportunity, the equal distribution of or access to resources, or does it only refer to procedural requirements? The meaning of such concepts and ideas is not beyond debate but their articulation in a reified manner puts them beyond debate. This may be done deliberately or otherwise. And lawyers seem to use 'time' in a distinctive manner. Progress appears to be treated as if it was simply linear. Of course it is, in the sense that days, weeks and months pass. But other disciplines, and practitioners with clients, are more

REASONABLE REASONING
This, necessarily selective and all too superficial, review of the range of ideas or schools of thought within jurisprudence or legal philosophy should have indicated the breadth and diversity of views and approaches that exist. It would be very misguided to think of lawyers as being less diverse in their assumptions and methods than are other disciplines. The discussion also, hopefully, indicated a number of ways in which particular positions, within this diversity, could facilitate or hinder developments with psychology. To this should be added a brief description of some characteristics of lawyers' practical reasoning. Aubert (1963), for example, has outlined a number of characteristics which has led others (Campbell, 1974) to argue that effective collaboration is unlikely. However, it will be argued, these characteristics arise out of the courtroom focus of some lawyers which is, substantially, just a stereotypical image of lawyers' work. Lawyers, for example, tend to dichotomise. Both concepts and facts (to indulge in a dichotomy) are pressed into categories, particularly alternatives. It is one thing, although dangerous in many senses, for people to be pressed into categories such as 'mentally disordered' or not, criminal damage or not, but it extends right through to reasonable or unreasonable behaviour. Lawyers, and the law, have great difficulty with relative concepts. However, this mirrors the reasoning of many other groups of people and is perfectly understandable given the legal task of fitting facts into legal categories. Lawyers, it is argued, focus on past events, while 'proper' scientists are trying to make accurate predictions about the future. This is true in that lawyers have to find, from past events, facts which will permit a particular conclusion to their case. They have to do this for legal ends. But it is not, really, different from other disciplines. Psychologists also examine the past, for example a client's past history of violence, in order to make decisions for the future. Lawyers concentrate upon the particular case, their client's, while others, for example psychologists researching the dangerousness of mentally disordered offenders, are trying to make generalised comments. Again the argument is not really valid. Yes, a lawyer has to try and get a particular outcome for a particular client. Similarly a psychologist will search the literature on the topic or about similar cases in order to help a particular client. The distinctions that ought to be being made are between lawyers generally and those in practice, who must work with the system, just as a distinction would be drawn between the research psychologist's motivation to make general comments about, for

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likely to emphasise the significance rather than the mere passage of time. The expression 'day in court' is very significant to lawyers. Cases, witnesses, clients are prepared for the 'day in court' even though the vast majority of civil cases are settled before any trial and the vast majority of prosecutions lead to admission of guilt so that a full trial is unnecessary. The day in court becomes a focal point, not just for planning purposes. The expectation is that the court will be able to deal with all the conflicting issues and establish a clear sense of direction; problems and controversy in, solution out. But 'real' life is not entirely like that. In many jurisdictions judges have, effectively, had sentencing powers (a time component) taken away from them. They may pronounce a five-year sentence. Doubtless that has an immediate effect (not just upon the media) but many, particularly those with a previous criminal history, will quickly calculate, for example, earliest dates upon which early release might be sought. The release of prisoners and patients from conditions of detention depends, although there are usually formal maximum terms, largely upon the individual's preparedness and motivation, as well as the availability of resources for community supervision. The simple linear approach to time leaves out the significance of opportunities. The finding that children's conception of time is different from that of adults (Goldstein, Freud and Solnit, 1973) has generally been learnt. Trials are expedited, although arguably still not enough. But are courts in a position to seize, or ensure that others seize, the opportunities that flow into, and possibly out of, every child's life? The nature of a problem, particularly from a child's perspective, can change dramatically over a comparatively short period of time.

REFERENCES
Anderson, T. and Twining, W. (1991). Analysis of Evidence: How to do Things with Facts. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Aubert, V. (1963). The structure of legal thinking. In Legal Essays: A Tribute to Fride Castberg on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Boston: Universitetsforlaget. Bankowski, Z. and Mungham, G. (1976). Images of Law. London: Routledge. Berry, M. (Convenor) (1993). Psychology and Antisocial Behaviour. Leicester: British Psychological Society. Blackburn, R. (1993). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct. Chichester: John Wiley. Campbell, C. (1974). Legal thought and juristic values. British Journal of Law and Society, 1,1,13-31. Cotterrell, R. (1986). Law and sociology. Journal of Law and Society, 13, 1, 9-34. Economides, K., Blacksell, M. and Watkins, C. (1986). Law and geography. Journal of Law and Society, 13, 2, 161-82. Evans, K. (1983). Advocacy at the Bar: A Beginner's Guide. London: Financial Training Press. Fennell, P. (1986). Law and psychiatry. Journal of Law and Society, 13, 1, 35-65. Fitzpatrick, P. and Hunt, A. (1987). Critical legal studies: an introduction. Journal of Law and Society, 14, 1, 1-3. Goldstein, J., Freud, A. and Solnit, A.J. (1973). Beyond the Best Interests of the Child. New York: Free Press. Goodrich, P. (1984). Law and language. Journal of Law and Society, 11,2, 173-206. Graffam Walker, A. (1994). Handbook on Questioning Children: A Linguistic Perspective. Washington, DC: ABA. Hart, H.L.A. (1963). Introduction. In C. Perelman (Ed.), The Idea of Justice and the Problem of Argument. London: Routledge. Kairys, D. (1982). Introduction. In D. Kairys (Ed.), The Politics of Law: A Progressive Critique. New York: Pantheon. Kelman, M. (1987). A Guide to Critical Legal Studies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kennedy, D. (1982). Legal education as training for hierarchy. In D. Kairys (Ed.), The Politics of Law: A Progressive Critique. New York: Pantheon. LIoyd-Bostock,S.(1981). Psychology and the law. British Journal of LawandSociety, 8, 1, 1-28. Losel, F. (1992). Psychology and law: overtures, crescendos, and reprises. In F. Losel, D. Bender andT. Bliesener(Eds), Psychology and Law: International Perspectives. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Macfarlane, J. (1992). Look before you leap: knowledge and learning in legal skills education. Journal of Law and Society, 19, 3, 293-319. McLellan, D. (1976). Karl Marx: His Life and Thought. St Albans, UK: Paladin. Melton, G.B., Monahan, J. and Saks, M.J. (1987). Psychologists as law professors. American Psychologist, 5029. Monahan, J. and Walker, L. (1994). Social Sciences and the Law: Cases and Materials. Westbury, NY: Foundation Press. Oddie, C. (Chair) (1991). Science and the Administration of Justice. London: Justice. Podmore, D. (1977). Lawyers and politics. British Journal of Law and Society, 4, 2, 155-85. Snyder, F.G. (1981). Anthropology, dispute processes and law. British Journal of Law and Society, 8, 2, 141-80.

CONCLUSION
As many have remarked, it is strange that two disciplines and professions, with such common interests, have not collaborated more productively. This chapter has tried to suggest that some of the reasons lie in their different approaches and assumptions. Can co-operation be expected whenever there are major differences between lawyers, when there is no orthodoxy about the nature of law? Yes, it is submitted, if a number of things are always remembered. Among these are the observation that lawyers serve at least two goals, making the present system 'work' for their clients (even if those are just law students) and the much broader notion of fair and efficient law (or justice). Law, like psychology, is always developing, moving. This comment does not just refer to changes in the content of the law but ideas about law generally. Collaboration focused upon change, it is submitted, would prove an important way forward.

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Spencer, J.R. and Flin, R. (1993). The Evidence of Children: The Law and the Psychology (2nd edn). London: Blackstone. Veljanovski, C.G. (1980). The economic approach to law. British Journal of Law and Society, 1,2,158-93.

Part 2

Individualism: Psychology's Support for Individuals