Do the Means Matter? Defense Attorneys’ Perceptions of Procedural Transgressions by Police and Their Implication on Police Legitimacy

Through interviews (n = 40) and surveys (n = 140) with separate samples of U.S. defense attorneys practicing criminal law in a Northeastern state, we utilize a mixed-methods approach to explore police procedural transgressions (e.g., pretextual stops, overreaching searches) during stops, searches, and seizures. With a structural equation path model, we examine whether and how procedural justice (an assessment of “the means” to control crime) and police effectiveness (an assessment of police performance or “the ends”) affect each other and influence perceptions of police legitimacy. Our findings indicate that procedural justice enhances perceptions of police legitimacy, whereas police effectiveness does not have an effect. Policy implications for developing mechanisms that discourage procedural transgressions by police are discussed.

Siyu Liu et al, Do the Means Matter? Defense Attorneys’ Perceptions of Procedural Transgressions by Police and Their Implication on Police Legitimacy, Criminal Justice Policy Review (32, 3) pp. . Copyright © 2020. DOI: 10.1177/0887403420915252. Users who receive access to an article through a repository are reminded that the article is protected by copyright and reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses. Users may also download and save a local copy of an article accessed in an institutional repository for the user's personal reference. For permission to reuse an article, please follow our Process for Requesting Permission.

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Work Title Do the Means Matter? Defense Attorneys’ Perceptions of Procedural Transgressions by Police and Their Implication on Police Legitimacy
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Siyu Liu
  2. Esther Nir
Keyword
  1. Procedural justice
  2. Police legitimacy
  3. Noble cause corruption
  4. Defense attorneys
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Criminal Justice Policy Review
Publication Date January 1, 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403420915252
Deposited February 27, 2023

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  • Created
  • Added Liu_and_Nir_2021_cjpr_openaccess_.pdf
  • Added Creator Siyu Liu
  • Added Creator Esther Nir
  • Published
  • Updated Keyword Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Procedural justice, Police legitimacy, Noble cause corruption, Defense attorneys
  • Updated