beaman - 1996 - legal ethnography exploring the gendered nature of legal method

7/30/2019 Beaman - 1996 - Legal Ethnography Exploring the Gendered Nature of Legal Method

1/22

Legal Ethnography:Explor ing the Gendered Nature of Leg al M ethodLor i Beaman-Hal l ,U n i v e r s it y o f N e w B r u n s w i c k

B e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e i d e a o f l a w a s d i s c o u r s e , t h i s e ss a y e x a m i n e s t h e w a y s i n w h i c hl e g a l m e t h o d i s g e n d e r ed . T e x t s , s u c h a s a f f i d a vi t s a n d c o u r t f o r m s , a n d l o c a l" m un d an e' p r a c t i c e s a r e p a r t o f t h e p r o d u c t i o n a n d a f f w m a t i o n o f the l a w a s aprod ucer o f t ru th . A poss ib le me thodo logy fo r exp lor ing lega l me thod , " lega le t h n o g r a p h y ,' i s i n t ro d u c e d a s a m e a n s b y w h i c h w e m i g h t e x p l i c at e h o w l e g a l m e t h o dw o r k s t o s u p p o r t a n d r e i f y l e g a l d i s c o u rs e , i n t h e p r o c e s s s i l e n c i n g t h e v o i c e s o fw o m e n . T h e e s s a y a l s o e x p l o re s h o w l e g a l m e t h o d c o m e s t o b e a c c e p t e d a s a " to o l o fthe t rade" by lawyers , who th en use i t to t rans la te the pr im ary na rra t ive o f the c l ien tin to a cause o f ac t ion tha t i s compre hens ib le to lawyers , judges , and o ther ac tors inthe lega l sys tem. F ina l ly , the l imi ta t ions o f he proposed m e thodo logy ar e cons idered .INTRODUCTIONW h i l e t h e re i s a n i m p r e s s i v e f e m i n i s t l i te r a t u re e x p l o r i n g t h e g e n d e r e d n a t u r eo f t h e c o n t e n t o f l a w ' a n d a c o r r e s p o n d i n g r e c o r d o f f e m i n i s m ' s p r a c t i c a la c c o m p l i s h m e n t s i n t h e r e a l m o f l a w r e f o r m , t h e r e i s a p a u c i t y o f t h e o r e t ic a le x p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e g e n d e r e d n a t u r e o f l e g a l m e t h o d , e m p i r i c a l s tu d i e s o f t h el o c a l w o r k i n g s o f t h e ' t o o l s o f t h e t r a d e , ' a n d p r a c t i c a l a t t e m p t s t o c h a l l e n g el a w ' s o w n m e t h o d . T h e s e g a p s a r e s u r p ri s i n g g i v e n t ha t le g a l m e t h o d i s p a r to f t h e p r i v i l e g e d d i s c o u r s e w e k n o w a s l a w . 2

L u c i n d a F i n l e y d e s c r i b e s l a w a sA m o n g o t h e r t h in g s , a l a n g u a g e , a f o r m o f d i s c o u r s e , a n d a s y s t e m t h r o u g hw h i c h m e a n i n g s a r e r e f l e c t e d a n d c o n s t r u c t e d a n d c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s a r eo r g a n i z e d . L a w i s a l a n g u a g e o f p o w e r , a p a r t i c u la r l y a u t h o r it a t i v e d i s -c o u r s e . L a w c a n p r o n o u n c e d e f i n i t i v e l y w h a t s o m e t h i n g i s o r is n o t a n d h o wa s i t u a t io n o r ev en t i s t o b e u n d e r s to o d . (1 9 8 9 : 8 8 8 )

T h e u n d e r s t a n d in g o f l a w a s d i s c o u r s e h a s b e e n c e n t r a l to t h e w o r k o f a n u m b e ro f f e m i n i s t t h e o r i s t s ? i n c lu d i n g C a r o l S m a r t . S m a r t , w h o d r a w s o n t h e w o r ko f M i c h e l F o u c a u l t , 4 u n d e r s t a n d s l a w n o t m e r e l y a s a d i s c o u r se , b u t a s b e i n ga t th e a p e x o f a h i e r a r c h y o f d i s c o u r s e s t ha t w o r k t o si l e n c e w o m e n ? S m a r ta r g u e s t h a t th e p o w e r o f l a w i s i ts c l a i m t o t r u th , e n a b l i n g i t to r e m a i n t h e c e n t r a ld i s c o u r s e t o w h i c h o t h e r d i s c o u r s e s a r e s u b s e r v ie n t a n d a r o u n d w h i c h t h e y a r ea r r a n g e d . T h e s t a t u s o f l a w i s r e i n f o r c e d s i m p l y b y t u r ni n g t o i t ' a s i f i t d i din d eed h o ld r i g h t fu l / co r r ec t o r e f f i cac io u s so lu t io n s ' ( 1 99 0 : 1 9 8 ) . S m ar t ,t h e r e f o re , p o s i ts , w h e n e v e r p o s s i b l e , a d e c e n t r i n g o f t h e l a w a s a s t r a t e g y f o rI am gratefulfor the helpful suggestions made by Chris Doran, GayleMacD onald, and M argaretMcCallum on earlier drafts of this essay. I would also like to thank the Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council of C anada for their financial support.


2/22

54 Crit ical Criminology, Vo lume 7, N um ber 1, Spring, 1996fem in i s t ac t ion (1989). 6 Und ers tand ing exac t ly wha t w e a re w ork ing todecen t re i s an in tegra l pa r t o f the fem in i s t p ro jec t in th i s con tex t .

W hi le l ega l m e th od has been the sub jec t o f fem in i s t theor iz ing ,7 the actu alwork o f revea l ing i t s gendered na ture i s fa r f rom com ple te . In th i s e ssay , I wi l le x a m i n e s o m e o f t h e w o r k t h a t h a s a l r ea d y b e e n d o n e i n t h e e x p lo r a t io n o f l e g a lm e tho d . Caro l S m a r t ' s ana lys i s is inva luab le to th i s d i scus s ion because l ega lm e th od is em bedd ed in l ega l d i s course ? Tex t s , inc lud ing cour t fo rm s ,a f f idav i t s , and the con ten t s o f w om en ' s f i l es , a re c rea ted us ing the ru le s o f l ega lm e th od and a re a pa r t o f the p roduc t ion and a f f i rm a t ion of l aw as tru th . S m a r t ' sunders tand in g of l aw as d i s course p rov ides the con tex t wi th in which th i s e s sayi s f ram ed . How ever , S m ar t ' s con tr ibu t ion needs to be augm ented wi thcontex tua l m e thodology/ ie s tha t can be used to exp lore how lega l m e thodw o r k s a t t h e l o ca l l ev e l . M a r y J a n e M o s s m a n ' s ( 1 9 8 6 ) w o r k o n l e g a l m e t h o dis o f cen t ra l im por tance to any cons ide ra t ion o f the gendered na ture o f l ega lm e thod . Al thou gh she does no t exp lore l ega l m e thod a t the local l eve l ,M ossm an ' s thou ght fu l ana lys i s revea l s bo th tha t and how seem ingly neu t ra laspects o f legal me thod are in fact sexis t . In the f i rs t sect ion I wil l a lsodem o ns t ra te tha t re sea rch w hich does a t t em pt to s tudy the loca l a spec t s o f l ega lm e th od i s s t r ik ing ly de f ic ien t in gender ana lys i s .

In the s econ d sec t ion o f the e s saay , I in t roduce a pos s ib le m e th odolog y fo rexp lor ing l ega l m e thod , based on the work of Doro th y S m i th . L ike Caro lS m ar t , I do no t p ropose to o f fe r an a l t e rna tive ' t ru th .' 9 Ra the r , I wish to sugg es ts o m e m e a n s b y w h i c h w e m i g h t f u r t h e r e x p l i ca t e t h e w a y s i n w h i c h l e g a lm e th od w orks to suppor t and re i fy l ega l d i s course , and thus to s i l ence the vo iceso f w o m e n .The th i rd s ec t ion o f the e s say i s a d is cus s ion of l ega l m e thod as the ' too l o fthe t rade . ' Law s tuden t s a re t aught lega l m e thod th rough the ana lys i s o f caselaw, a p roces s tha t s e ldom involves cha l l eng ing the neu t ra l i ty and ob jec t iv i tyof the ve ry too l s they a re l ea rn ing to use .

I then exam ine ho w the p r im ary n a r ra t ive o f the c l i en t i s t ransla ted (a t thein te rsec t ion o f eve ryda y expe r ience and l ega ! d i s course ) so a s to be a cause o fac t ion tha t i s com prehens ib le to l awyers , judges , o the r ac to rs in the l ega lsys tem , and , pe rhaps even to the c l i en t he rse l f.

F ina l ly , I d i s cus s som e obs tac le s to the use o f l ega l e thnograp hy as a re sea rchtoo l in expos ing the m unda ne , eve ryd ay a spec t s o f l ega l m e thod . In th i ssec t ion , I cons ide r the e f fec t s o f these obs tac le s on w om en as c l i en t s. Wh i le th i se s say does n o t p rov ide a de ta i led ~a ly s i s , i t i s hoped tha t i t wi l l bo th convinc ethe reade r o f the u rgen t ne ed fo l- such work , -and of fe r a po in t f rom which tounder tak e exp lora tions o f the ' m u ndan e work ing s ' (S m ar t 1990: 197) o f lega lm e t h o d .F E M I N S T A N A L Y S E S O F L A W A N D G E N D E RThere a re two s t ream s o f fem in i s t thought tha t have em erged in re la t ion to lega lm e thod: one invo lves the a r t i cu la t ion o f fem in i s t l ega l m e thods , the o the r


3/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 55cen t re s a round the decons t ruc t ion o f t rad i tiona l l ega l m e thod . Al tho ugh I wi l lb r i e f ly rev iew the f i r s t s t ream , th i s e s say is conce rn ed wi th the l a t t e r p ro jec t,wi th the cav ea t tha t the two a re n o t whol ly s epa rab le ; by exp l ica t ing the way sin w hich t rad i t iona l l ega l m e thod i s gendered , new s t ra teg ie s wi l l undoub ted lye m e r g e .

W hi le the re i s a s ign i f i can t l i t era tu re on fem in i s t m e tho ds /m e thod olog ies(Eichler 1990; Harding 1987, 1991; MacKinnon 1987, 19~9, 1991; Smith1987a , 1987b) , l i t t l e has been done in the a rea o f fem in i s t m e thods a s they a reor cou ld be a r t i cu la ted in the lega l fo rum . Bo yd and S heehy (1986) desc r ibethe d i s t inc t ion be tween l ega l m e thod and fem in i s t m e thod: ' Whi le l ega lm e tho d re l i e s on n a r row cha rac te r i za t ion o f i s sues , use o f p receden t , and s t r i c tcons t ruc t ion o f s t a tues, fem in i s t m e thodo log ies ques t ion soc ie ta l a s sum pt ionsand fu ndam enta l ly re jec t concep t s o f "ob jec t ive t ru ths " and "va lue neu t ra l i ty(p . 37). '' 1~ O ne n o tab le e f fo r t in the a rea o f fem in i s t l ega l m e thods i s the wo rkof Ka tha r ine Bar t l e t t (1990) , who iden t i f i e s th ree fem in i s t l ega l m e thods :consc iousnes s ra i s ing , a sk ing the ' w om an q ues t ion , ' and feha in i s t p rac t i ca lreason ing. I wil l briefly discuss each in turn as they i llus tra te the des irabi l i tyof m ul t i face ted st ra teg ie s and the need to exp lore t rad it iona l l ega l m e tho d ingrea te r de ta i l.

M acKin non (1987) has a rgued tha t consc iousnes s ra is ing , tha t t akes p lacethrough d i s cus s ion of sha red expe r iences , i s the cen t ra l com ponent o f theem p ow erm e nt o f wom en, u Wh i le I would no t a sc r ibe to consc iousnes s ra i s ingthe abso lute cen tra l i ty M acK inn on (1987) does , 12 i t is an integral part o f thedeve lopm ent o f subvers ive s t ra teg ie s bo th wi th in and ou t s ide o f l ega l d i s -course . 1~ Bart le t t (1990: 8 37) describes con sciousn ess ra is ing as ' a mea ns o fte s t ing the v a l id i ty o f accep ted l ega l p r inc ip le s th rough the l ens o f the pe rsona lexpe r ience o f those d i rec t ly a f fec ted by those p r inc ip le s . ' Consc iousnes sra i s ing i s , however , unde rm ined by t rad i t iona l l ega l m e thod which of tenopera te s in nea r ly unobse rvab le p laces , such a s the l awyer ' s o f f i ce , and w orksto s epa ra te, ra the r than to un i te , wom en w i th s im i la r expe r iences . Con nec t ingwo m e n to w om en as we l l a s exp l ica t ing the ir expe r iences in re la t ion to l ega ld i s course becom es prob lem at ic . Ba r t l e t t ' s (1990) s econd m e thod - a sk ing thewo m a n ques t ion - goes toward addres s ing the l a tt e r d i f f i cu l ty .

A s k i n g t h e w o m a n q u e s t io n m e a n s e x p o s i n g ' h o w t h e s u bs t an c e o f l a w m a ys i l en t ly and w i thou t jus t i f i ca t ion subm erge the pe rspec t ives o f w om en an dothe r exc luded groups ' (Bar t l e tt 1990: 236) . But , the wom an ques t ion m u s t gofur the r ; the s i l enc ing a spec t s o f t rad i t iona l l ega l m e thod need to be expo sed .W hi le the d icho tom y be tw een subs tance and m e tho d i s no t a lw ays c lea r , ~41 wi l luse i t to m ake the po in t tha t lega l m e thod s i l ences wom en no t on ly a t the l eve lof m e thod , bu t i t m ay a l so w ork to obscure subs tan t ive de fec ts in l aw as w e l l .The sys tem a t ic s i f t ing ou t o f l ega l ly i r re levan t expe r iences m ay work toobscure the need fo r changes in subs tan t ive l aw which t ake in to account thoseexc luded expe r iences . Bar t l e t t ' s th ird fem in i s t l ega l m e thod incorpora te s ab lur r ing o f subs tance and m e thod .


4/22

56 Crit ical Criminology, Volum e 7, N um ber 1, Spring, 1996F em in i s t p rac t ica l reason ing ' expands t rad i t iona l no t ions o f l ega l re levance

to m ake l ega l dec i s ion-m aking m ore s ens i t ive to the fea tu res o f a case no ta l rea dy re f l ec te d in l ega l doc t r ine ' (Bar t l e t t 1990: 236-237) . Ag a in ,de te rm ina t ions o f re levance , o r the ch a rac te r i za t ion o f the i s sue , i s a p roces stha t inc ludes conf iden t ia l so li c i to r-c l i en t in te rac tions . The s to ry is codedbefore i t becom es publ ic ly acces s ib le th rough cour t docum ents o r cour thea r ings . Not ions o f re levance ope ra te p r io r to 'l ega l dec i s ion-m aking . 'Unles s we a re fu l ly aware o f the s i l enc ing a spec t s o f t rad i t iona l l ega l m e th oda t a m u ndan e l eve l , fem in i s t l ega l m e thods wi l l be s ign i f i can t ly underm ined . 15

F em in i s t work w hich does inves t iga te the gendered a spec t s o f t rad i t iona ll ega l m e tho d has focused pr im ar i ly on repor ted cou r t cases, cour t room in te r -ac t ions , and l awy ers ' in te rpre ta t ions o f spec i f i c cases . 16 Wh i le such re sea rchadds to our u nders tand ings o f how lega l m e th od works , i t does no t revea l i t seve ry day , m un dane use . Caro l S m ar t ' s com m e nts il lus t ra te the im por tance o fthe exp lora t ion o f these eve ryd ay a spec t s o f l ega l m e thod:

we sho uld no t ove r look a m ore rou t ine o r m un dane a spec t to l aw. On a da i lybas i s m em b ers o f the pub l ic go to l awyers fo r adv ice , and the l awyers theyconsu l t m a y neve r o ccupy them se lves wi th s eek ing the cor rec t in te rpre ta tionof the l ega l t ex t . I t m igh t be a rgued , fo r exam p le , tha t the c la im to t ru th hasl i t tl e to do w i th the rou t ine o f the o rd ina ry l ega l a id p rac t i ce . Ye t i t unde r l i e sth i s p rac t ice , even i f rou t ine obscures i t. P r im ar i ly the job o f the so l i c i to r i sto t rans la te eve ryd ay a f fa i r s in to l ega l i s sues. On hea r ing the c l i en t ' s s to ry ,the so l i c i to r s if t s it th rough a s i eve o f l ega l know ledge an d fo rm ula t ions .Mo s t o f the s to ry wi l l be cha f f a s fa r a s the l awyer i s conce rned , no m a t te rhow s ign i f i can t the re jec ted e lem ents a re to the c l i en t . Hav ing ex t rac tedwha t l aw de f ines a s re levan t , i t i s trans la ted in to a fo re ign l anguage . (S m ar t1990: 197.-198)

The m ore pe rvas ive and da ngerous a spec t s o f l ega l m e thod do no t occur in thec o u r t r o o m , b u t b e h i n d t h e c l o s e d d o o r s o f t h e l a w y e r ' s o f f i c e , w h e r e t h eproces s o f so r t ing ou t the ' cha f f ' beg ins . ' The cha rac te r i za t ion o f the i s sues 'a s one a spec t o f l ega l m e th od m u s t be in te rpre ted so a s to inc lude m un daneprac t i ces. I t i s those p rac t ices w hich a re v i r tua l ly inacces s ib le to the re sea rche rand , a s a re su l t , the re has been ve ry l i t t l e em pi r ica l re sea rch focus ing on thesesec re t ive in te rac tions .W h i l e n o t a n e x p l o ra t io n o f t h e m u n d a n e a s p e c ts o f l e g a l m e t h o d t o w h i c hS m ar t re fe rs , Ma ry J ane Moss m an ' s (1986) work i s perhaps the m os t no tewor-thy fem in i s t re sea rch on t rad i t iona l l ega l m e tho d to da te. Mo ssm an (1986)rev iews two cases o f h i s to r ica l s ign i f i cance to Canadian wom en ' s l ega lequa l i ty in the con tex t o f l ega l m e thod .17 S he s e t s ou t l ega l m e thod as inc lud ingthe fo l lo wing e lem ents : 1 ) the cha rac te r i za tion o f the i s sues ; 2 ) the cho ice o flega l p receden t to dec ide the va l id i ty o f the w om en ' s c la im s , 18 and 3) theproces s o f s t a tu to ry in te rpre ta t ion , e spec ia l ly in de te rm in ing the e f fec t o f


5/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 57statutes to a l ter comm on law principles (1986: 38). ~9 M ossm an s ta tes thatt rad i t iona l ly , l ega l m e th od has ope ra ted w i th in a h igh ly s t ruc tured f ram e workwhich of fe rs l i t tl e oppor tun i ty fo r fundam en ta l ques tion ing about the p roces sof d e f in ing the i s sues, s e lec t ing re levan t p r inc ip les , and exc lud ing i r re levan tideas ' (1986: 32) . S he ana lyses how lega l m e tho d de f ines i t s own bound ar ie sand c rea te s i t s own d e f in i t ion o f re levance to the exc lus ion of som e ideas a ndexper iences . Throug h op t ions in p receden t , s t a tu to ry in te rpre ta t ion , and ideas ,the re i s m ore oppor tun i ty fo r cho ice than m igh t fa s t appea r (1986: 45 ) .

Mo ssm an co nc ludes tha t l ega l m e thod can and doe s d ic ta te the con ten t o fl ega l cases in po l it i ca l, m ora l , and gendered ways w hi le a l lowing the l aw toh ide beh ind the i l lus ion of neu t ra l i ty .2~ By rem ain ing de tached f rom i t s soc ia lcon tex t , l aw i s ab le to rem a in insu la ted f rom pe rcep t ions tha t dec i s ions a rem ad e on the bas i s o f judg es ' ow n m o ra l i ti e s and be l i e fs about gender andgender ro le s . Mo ssm an i s no t convinced tha t the s t ruc ture o f l ega l m e th od wi l ladm i t fem in i s t pe rspec t ives (1986: 46) . Th i s conc lus ion , coupled wi th S m ar t ' s(1989) adv ice to re s is t in a l t e rna tive fo rum s , m igh t we l l d i s courage any fu r the rexp lora t ion o f l ega l m e thod . How ever , fem in i s t s t ra teg ie s need to be deve l -oped on m ul t ip le s i te s . Mo ssm an m ay be correc t ; lega l m e thod m ay we l l beim perv ious to fem in i s t pe rspec t ives ; bu t , we have ba re ly begun to expose theway s in which l ega l m e thods a re gendered , l e t a lone to cha l l enge them . Unt i lfem in i s t s have done m ore em pi r ica l and theoret ical work in re la t ion to legalm e thod , we sho uld heed M ossm an as a warn ing to the po ten ti a l fu t i li ty o f thesee f for t s and con t inue on . Unfor tuna te ly , l i tt l e re sea rch i s ava i lab le which m igh tprov ide a n ind ica to r o f the u t i l i ty o f exp lor ing and cha l l eng ing l ega l m e thod .I w i l l b r i e f ly desc r ibe two re la ted , bu t l im i ted , s tud ies .

Resea rch con duc ted in Ca l i fo rn ia and Bos ton b y A us t in S a ra t and W i l l i amL. F . F e l s t ine r (1986) i s based on da ta co l l ec ted f rom tape record ing 115conversa t ions be tween l awy ers and c li en t s. Us ing one such conversa t ion a s apo in t f rom which to deve lop the i r ana lys i s , S a ra t and F e l s t ine r exam ine anum ber o f them es in l ega l d i s course , inc lud ing the l ega l cons t ruc tion o f thecl ient .21 Whi le they desc r ibe a nu m ber o f in te re s t ing f ind ing s , " the s tudy doesno t exp lore the gendered na ture o f the so l i c i to r / c l i en t in te rac t ions , excep t tospecu la te about fem a le c l i en t s ' fan ta s ie s invo lv ing the i r m a le l awyers .23

Ano the r s tudy w hich exp lores so l i c i to r -c li en t in te rac t ions in the con tex t o fpow er re la t ions i s tha t conduc ted by Car l J. Hos t i cka (1979). Wh i le Hos t i cka ' sre sea rch g ives us som e g l im pses in to the com plex i t i e s o f the m undane a spec t so f l e g a l m e t h o dz4 th rough the in te rs ec tion o f po wer and p over ty (h i s s tudy i sconduc ted in a l ega l a id c l in ic ) , he too fa i l s to addres s gender i s sues . G iven theof ten devas ta t ing econom ic consequences o f m arr iage / re la t ionsh ip b reakdownfor wom en, they a re e spec ia l ly vu lne rab le to the pow er o f lega l d i scourse . Ho wlega l m e thod wo rks to fu r the r exace rba te the d i s advan taged pos it ion o f wom enis v i r tua l ly unexplored .

In sum m ary , wha t l i t t le re sea rch has been done invo lv ing so l i c ito r / c l ien tin te rac t ions has no t addres sed the gendered a spec t s o f l ega l m e thod as i t works


6/22

58 Crit ical Criminology, Volume 7, Number 1, Spring, 1996a t the m und ane l eve l . These s tud ies a l so do no t s eem to deve lop a fu l l ana lys i sof the connec t ion be tween the e thnographic and the ins ti tu t iona l . Ano the rl im i ta t ion o f p rev ious ana lyses o f l ega l m e tho d i s tha t they have t ended toana ly ze l ega l p roces ses on ly in re la t ion to wr i t t en cour t dec i s ions ; ye t , them ajor i ty o f the d i s curs ive p rac t i ces tha t work to obscure the eve ryda y expe r i -ences o f wom en a re loca ted in l awyers ' o f f i ces . Th i s idea i s e spec ia l lys ign i f i can t g iven th a t the vas t m a jor i ty o f cases neve r reach the cour t room .These p rac t i ces a re pa r t i cu la r ly e lus ive because they a re s een on ly by thelawyer , wh o m ore l ike ly than no t , fa i ls to apprec ia te the i r s ign i f i cance . In m o s tcases , the c l i en t trus t s tha t the l aw yer knows wh a t she i s do ing , o r fee l s unab leto cha l l enge the l ega l p roces s and , the re fore , ra re ly a s se r ts he r r igh t to t e l l he rs t o r y h e r w a y .

I t i s the p roces s o f re shap ing the s to ry tha t i s known as the cha rac te r i za tionof the i s sue . W hi le M ossm a n (1986) s e t s ou t th ree a spec t s o f l ega l m e thod , Ihave chosen to focus on the cha rac te r i za tion o f the i s sue fo r a va r ie ty o f reasons :1) it beg ins f rom the ve r y ins tan t the wom an/c l i en t wa lks in to the l awy er ' so f f i ce ; 2 ) i t i s ins id ious in tha t i t is an in tegra l , non- re f l ex ive pa r t o f the l awy er ' stools ; 3) due to sol ic i tor-c l ien t conf ident ia l i ty, i t is often invis ible .

Ho w can we th ink abo ut th i s is sue so a s to deve lop m e thodolog ies tha t wi l lenab le us to be t t e r unde rs tand the s i lenc ing a spec ts o f l ega l m e thod? How canwe deco ns t ruc t l ega l m e thod? Joan W. S co t t (1990:137) de f ines the p roces s o fdecons t ruc t ion a s invo lv ing the ana lys i s o f ' t he ope ra t ions o f d i f fe rence intex t s , the ways in which m ean ings are m ade to work . The m e th od cons i s ts o ftw o re la ted s teps : the reversal and d isplace men t of binary opposit ions .'Z~ T hebina ry oppo s i t ion wi th w hich we a re conce rned i s the re levan t / ir re levan t ( l ega ljunk ) d i s t inc t ion m ade dur ing the p roces s o f the cha rac te r iza t ion o f the is sue a tthe m un dane or loca l leve l . How a re de te rm ina t ions o f re levance m ad e in theproces s o f the cha rac te r i za t ion o f the i s sue a s gendered?LEGAL ETHNOGRAPHY:A METHOD FOR DECONSTRUCTING LEGAL METHODThe work of Doro thy S m i th , a p ionee r in revea l ing the gendered na ture o fsoc io log ica l m e thods ,2~ prov ides a p lace f rom which the exp l ica tion o f thegendered na ture o f l ega l m e th od m ay beg in . S m i th ' s m a jor con t r ibu t ion i s he rexposure o f the purpor ted neu t ra l i ty o f the too l s o f the t rade in soc io log ica lm e tho ds a s f raudulen t . Her c r i t ique o f soc io log ica l m e thod i s inva luab le to anydiscus s ion of m e tho d in tha t i t b r ings fo rward fo r s c ru t iny m an y of the taken fo rgran ted a spec t s o f the m e tho ds em ploy ed in any g iven d i s course . Th e genderedaspec t s o f those m e thods a re o f ten inv i s ib le un t i l th is p roces s i s unde r taken .In the con tex t o f soc io logy , S m i th (1987a , 1988) in t roduces ins t i tu t iona le thnography as a re sea rch s lxa tegy tha t wi l l he lp to ach ieve a soc io logyre f lec t ing the expe r iences o f wom e n. W hi le S m i th ( ib id . ) advoca tes beg inn ingwi th the eve ryd ay expe r iences o f ind iv idua l wom e n (e thnography) , the t a sk o f


7/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 59the soc io log i s t i s to go beyo nd th i s to exp lore and exp l ica te the ru l ing appa ra tus( ins t itu t ions ) tha t shapes , o rgan izes , and i s reproduced by ev e ryday l i fe . Thenot ion o f ru l ing appa ra tus ex tends beyo nd the s t a te to inc lude : ' t ha t fam i l i a rc o m p l e x o f m a n a g e m e n t , g o v e r n m e n t , a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , p r o f e s s i o n s , a n din te l igen t s ia , a s we l l a s the t ex tua l ly m edia ted d i s courses tha t coord ina te andin te rpene t ra te it ' (1987: 108) . A s ign i f i can t s t reng th o f S m i th ' s m e thodo logyis no t , how ever , i t s cons ide ra t ion o f ins t i tu t ions a s o rgan ize rs , bu t he r ins i st -ence on beg inn ing wi th the expe r iences o f ind iv idua l wom en. By focu s ing onthe p r im ary n a r ra t ive ( the w om an ' s s to ry) , ins t i tu t iona l e thnography presen t soppor tun i t i e s fo r new way s o f s ee ing tha t a re unava i l ab le th rough the use o f the' ca tegor ie s o f the d i s course ' (1988: 62) .

The c ha l l enge presen ted by ins t i tu t iona l e thnograph y i s a fo rm idab le one : torem ain t rue to the ind iv idua l ' s expe r ience whi le a t the s am e t im e m oving theleve l o f ana lys i s beyond the ind iv idua l . F o r exam ple , beg inn ing wi th he r ownexper iences a s a s ing le pa ren t a t t em pt ing to dea l wi th he r ch i ld ' s s chool andm ov ing to o the r wom en ' s expe r iences , S m i th (1987a: 173) , th rough he r ownm eth odo logy , d i s cove rs how the c la s s room ' i s em bedde d in a h ie ra rchy ofadm in i s t ra t ive and po l i t ica l p roces ses .' S he con c ludes tha t cla s s is reproducedthrou gh the c lassroom (Smith 1987a: 174). I t is this type of re la t ionsh ip,norm a l ly obscured by t rad it iona l m e thodolog ies , tha t ins ti tu t iona l e thnogra -p h y c a n r e v e a l.J i l l McC al la Vicke rs (1989: 44-53) desc r ibes f ive m e thodolog ica l rebe l lionsof fem in i s t re sea rch : 1 ) the rebe l l ion aga ins t decontex tua l i za t ion ; 2 ) therebe l l ion to re s to re agency ; 3 ) the rebe l l ion ag a ins t reve rsa l,27 4) the re belli onaga ins t ob jec t iv i ty , and ; 5 ) the rebe l l ion aga ins t l inea r i ty , inev i t ab i l ity , andlaws . Doro thy S m i th ' s wo rk re f lec t s these rebe ll ions th rough he r ins i s t ence onthe con tex tua l i za t ion o f bo th loca l ac t iv i ti e s and the i r re la t ion to ins t i tu t iona lorgan iza t ion and he r dem and tha t re sea rch beg in wi th the expe r iences o find iv idua l wom en as ac to rs rathe r than ob ject s . I t is these a spec t s o f S m i th ' sw o r k w h i c h a n y m e t h o d o l o g y f o r th e e x p l o r a ti o n o f l e g a l m e t h o d s h o u l d s e e kto re ta in.

The use o fe thnogra phies to unders tand l ega l p roces ses i s no t new. S udn ow ' ss ign i f i can t e thnographic re sea rch on p lea ba rga in ing in the con tex t o f c r im ina lcour t p roceed ings i s pe rhaps the bes t know n exam ple o f th i s type o f work in thelegal se t t ing.2s The d i s advan tage o f S udn ow ' s approach f rom a fem in i s tpe rspec t ive i s tha t i t fa i l s to expose power re la t ions in the con tex t o f thecour t room an d in l ega l d i s course . S m i th ' s m e tho dology rem edies th is p rob lemby e x tend ing be yon d the s i t e o f the e thnographic exp lora t ion to the s t ruc tura la spec t s o f oppres s ion . Othe rwise s t a ted , S m i th enab les us to connec t the loca lto the ins t i tut ional .Othe r s tud ies have a t t em pted to expose p ower re la t ions in d i f fe ren t con tex t s .F or exam ple , Dona ld H . Z im m erm an (1974) desc r ibes the d i s junc ture be tweenthe s to ry o f the pub l ic w e l fa re rec ip ien t / c l i en t ( the p r im ary na r ra t ive ) and thec rea t ion o f the fac ts by the in take worke r . Z im m er m an goes fu r the r than s im ply


8/22

6 0 Crit ical Criminology, Volum e 7, N um ber 1, Spring, 1996expl ica t ing th i s p roces s to iden t i fy the au thor i ty o f the do cum ent a s a represen-ta t ion o f the ' f ac t s ' in re la t ion to the s to ry a s i t i s to ld by the c l i en t. Thetex tua l ly -worked -up- fac t s p rov ide the account tha t i s recognized and whichen te rs the ins ti tu t iona l d i s course . Al thoug h Z im m erm a n revea l s how tex t s a reconnec ted to and reproduce l a rge r o rgan iza tiona l schem a , 29 his work in thisa rea , l ike tha t o f S udnow (1965) , S a ra t and F e l s t ine r (1986) and Hos t ika (1979) ,i s d e v o i d o f g e n d e r a n a l y s i s.

S i m i l a r w o r k w h i c h f o c u s e s s p e c if i c a ll y o n w o m e n i s R o x a n a N g ' s ( 1 9 8 8,1989) re sea rch on im m igran t wom en and the i r ' p roces s ing ' th rough an em -p l o y m e n t a g e n c y . N g ( 1 9 88 ) t o o e x p l o r e s th e u s e o f d o c u m e n t s in d e f i n i n gi s sues and the i r d i sjunc ture wi th c l i en t s ' s to r i e s / l ived rea l i ti e s . Ng exp l ic i t lyem p loys S m i th ' s m e thodo logy in he r s tudy and desc r ibes ins t i tu t iona l e thnog-raphy as s eek ing ' to loca te the dyna m ics o f a loca l se t t ing in the com plexins t i tu t iona l re la t ions o rgan iz ing the loca l dynam ics ' (1988: 19) .3~ I t ise spec ia l ly the dynam ics o f the loca l work ing of l ega l m e thod tha t have ye t tob e e x p o s e d .

W ha t S m i th s ays about soc io log ica l m e tho ds m ay be ab le to be t ransposedto l ega l d i s course : how law i s concep tua l i zed - i t s m e thods , concep tua ls chem es , and theor ie s - has been based on and bu i l t up wi th in the m a le soc ia lun ive rse , even wh en wo m en have pa r t i c ipa ted in i ts do ing (S m i th 1990a : 13).W hi le fem in i s t s have begun to cha l l enge the m a le b ia s o f l aw, we have y e t tounder tak e the s am e pro jec t wi th s im i la r in tens i ty in re la t ion to l ega l m e tho d .There i s l i t t l e reason to be l i eve tha t l ega l m e thod does no t re f l ec t a m a lewor ldv iew, and i t i s the re fore p robab le tha t , whe n ce r ta in pa r ts o f a s to ry a red i sca rded a s ' l ega l junk , ' tha t p roces s i s gu ided by m a le a s ses sm ents andin te rpre ta tions o f re levance .

Doro thy S m i th ' s ins t i tu t iona l e thnography can be used a s the bas i s fo r am e th odolo gy tha t wi l l fac i l i ta t e the exp lora t ion o f l ega l m e thod as gende red .S ince th i s m e thod ology wi l l exp lore on e ins t i tu tion in pa r t icu la r , I wi l l re fe r toi t a s l ega l e thnograp hy . A lega l e thnography would s eek to exp lore , beg inn ingwi th the c l i en t ' s s to ry , how the p r im ary na r ra tive o f a wom an ' s exp e r ience i st rans form ed in to a l ega l ly - re levan t package o f in form a t ion . I t would recoverthose a spec t s o f he r s to ry tha t a re de te rm ined to be i r re levan t in the p roces s o fthe cha rac te r i za t ion o f the i s sue . The exp l ica tion o f the connec t ion be tweenof ten inv i s ib le ca tegor ie s ( to the c l i en t and , a s wi l l be d i s cus sed in the nex tsec t ion , pos s ib ly to the l awyer) ca tegor ie s o f l ega l d i s course , and the wo rked-up ve rs ion of the c l i en t ' s s to ry would a l so be a goa l o f th i s m e thodology .E q u a l l y , i f n o t m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , w o u l d b e t h e e x p o s u r e o f h i d d e n d e t e r m i n a n t sof re levance and the i r re la tion to the exc luded a spec t s o f the s to ry . Toparaphrase S m i th , l ega l e thnograph y would d i s c lose how wo m en ' s s to ri e s a reorgan ized and de te rm ined by l ega l p roces ses tha t a re no t ' know able th rough theo r d i n a r y m e a n s t h r o u g h w h i c h w e f i n d o u t a b o u t o u r e v e r y d a y w o r l d ' ( 1 9 8 8 :63) . The s i l enc ing of wom e n by l ega l m e tho d cou ld be exp lored a t bo th the


9/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 61i n d i v id u a l l e v e l a n d a s s o m e t h i n g e x p e r i e n c e d b y w o m e n a s a s y s t e m i c b i a s.I n o t h e r w o r d s , o n e g o a l o f a l e g a l e t h n o g r a p h y w o u l d b e t o e x p l ic a t e p a tt e r n so f e x c l u s i o n i n t h e c h a r a c t e r iz a t i o n o f t h e i ss u e . W h i l e l e g a l e th n o g r a p h y m i g h tb e e m p l o y e d t o e x p l o r e o t h e r a s p e c t s o f l e g a l d is c o u r s e , s u c h a s d e f i c i e n c i e s insubs t an t i ve l aw , i t i s l ega l me t hod whi ch has r ema i ned e l us i ve t o f emi n i s td i s c o u r s e a b o u t l a w .

I n o r d e r t o f u r t h e r c o n t e x t u a li z e t h e n e e d f o r e m p i r ic a l a n d t h e o r e ti c a l w o r ko n t h e g e n d e r e d n a t u r e o f t h e w o r k i n g s o f t h e m u n d a n e a s p e c t s o f l e g al m e t h o d ,I w i l l beg i n w her e S m i t h ( 1987a) began i n he r c r i t i que o f soc i o l og i ca l me t hod s ;w i t h t h e " t o o l s o f t h e t r a d e " .T H E T O O L S O F TH E T R A D E

L e g a l m e t h o d i s t h e ' t o o l ' o f th e l eg a l ' t r a d e . ' I t i s u s e d t o c h a r a c t e ri z e t h e i s s u et h r o u g h t h e p r o c e s s o f w o r k i n g u p t h e p r i m a r y n a r r a t iv e o f t h e c l i e n t t o t h e' f a c t s ' o f t h e c a s e t h a t a r e o f te n e v e n t u a l l y e n c a s e d i n s o m e t e x tu a l f o r m .

I n l a w s c h o o l , s tu d e n t s r e a d m a s s i v e n u m b e r s o f d o c u m e n t s , u s u a l ly c a s el aw , w i t h t he exp ec t a t i on t ha t t hey w i ll ex t r ac t f rom t ho se docum ent s t he s a l i en tpo i n t s . T h i s p r oce dur e i s pa r t o f lea r n i ng t o cha r ac t e r i ze t he i s sue ( whi ch m eansd i spos i ng o f t he i r r e l evan t ma t e r i a l i n o r de r t o ge t t o t he r e l evan t i s sues ) , ap r o c e s s p o r t r a y e d a s b e i n g n e u t r a l a n d o b j e c t iv e . A s M a r g a r e t T h o r n t o n ( 1 9 8 6 :16) a rgues , ' t he f avo ur i ng o f a na r r ow, doc t r i na l , a t heor e t i ca l appr oa ch t o l ega leduca t i on , whi ch e schews c r i t i ca l cons i de r a t i on o f t he w i de r con t ex t ua l andi d e o l o g i c a l r o l e o f l a w , e n s u r e s t h e p e r p e t r a ti o n o f t h e m y t h o f n e u t r a li t y o fl e g a l i s m . '

Nar r ow i ng t echn i ques a r e f u r the r pr om ul ga t ed t h r ough ba r adm i s s i on cour ses .T r a i n e e s a r e p r o v i d e d w i t h a d v i c e a n d t e x t u a l m o d e l s p r e p a r e d b y s e n i o rm e m b e r s o f t h e p r o f e s si o n . A d v i c e m i g h t i n c lu d e t h e f o ll o w i n g :

M any c l i en t s w i l l , i f g i ven t he oppor t un i t y , ca r r y on w i t h i r r e l evan t andi mm at e r i a l t ri v i a l f ac t s whi ch a r e use l e s s t o t he f il e . W i t hou t be i ngof f ens i ve , the exp e r i ence d l awyer w i l l lead t he c l i en t i n a f i xed and o r d e r l yma nne r i n o r de r t o ob t a i n ma t e r i a l f ac ts ,n

T h e c l i e n t ' s s t o r y i s t o b e o r d e r e d b y a s c h e m a o f d i s c o u r s e w h i c h i s n o tava i l ab l e i n t he p r i mar y na r r a t i ve ( S mi t h 1990a : 165) . W h a t is ' u se l e s s ' t o thef i l e is a m a t t e r o f l ega l cons t r uc t i on , no t a r e f l ec t i on o f t he i mpor t an ce o f t hei s sues i n t he c l i en t ' s l i f e .

L e g a l s k i ll s a r e t r a n s p o s e d w h e n t h e s t u d e n t b e c o m e s a p r a c t i t io n e r a n dbeg i ns t o dea l w i t h ' r ea l - l i f e ' c l ien t s . T he se sk i l ls a r e t he t oo l s o f l ega ld i scour se t ha t bec om e pa r t o f a l awy er ' s s t ock and t r ade . L ea r n i ng t o t h i nk ' l i kea l awy er ' m eans l ea r n i ng t o cha r ac t e r i ze a c l i en t ' s s t o r y a s a l ega l p r ob l em. I tmeans be i ng sk i l l ed a t s epa r a t i ng r e l evan t , a s de f i ned by l ega l d i s cour se ,a spec t s o f the c l i en t ' s s t o r y f r om t he con t ex t o f t he c l i en t ' s li f e .


10/22

6 2 Crit ical Criminology, Volum e 7, Nu mb er 1, Spring, 1996T h e c r ea t i on an d i n t e rp r e t a t i on o f t ex t s a r e in t egra l t o t he l ega l p rocess i n g o f

a case . T ex t s a r e t he means by whi ch l oca l p r ac t ices en t e r l ega l d iscour se . Ye tt h o s e p r a c ti c e s a re n o t a d m i t te d i n a n u n m e d i a t e d f o r m . T h e l a w y e r m u s t" c o d e ' t h e s t o r y s o t h a t i t c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d w i t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f l e g a ld i s c o u r s e . T e x t s i n th i s c o n t e x t ta k e a n u m b e r o f f o r m s : ch e c k l i st s o rques t i onn a i r e s , l e t t e r s t o o t he r so l i c i t o r s , le t t e rs t o t he c l i en t , and p r e - s t ruc t u r edform s such a s d i v orce pe ti ti ons ,32 and f i na l l y , a f f i dav i ts . A l t hough p res t ruc t u r edform s a r e mo re b l a t an t i n t he i r exc l us i ven ess , a f f i dav i t s t ha t purpor t t o t el l t hec l i en t ' s s t o ry ( i n l ega l l anguage r epresen t t he c l i en t ' s pos i t i on) a r e a l sos t r u c tu r e d b y c o n s i d e r a ti o n s o f l e g al r e l e v a n c e . T h e y a r e u s u a l l y s tr u c t u re d s oa s t o m i r r o r r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e a p p l ic a b l e A c t . T h e s e p r e - p a c k a g e d d e t e r m i -n a n t s o f r e l e v a n c e e n a b l e t h e p r a c t i ti o n e r t o e x p e d i t e t h e c o n d u c t o f t h e c a s et h rough t he r eady i den t i f i ca t i on o f r e l eva n t f ac t s , and t o a l l ow fo r t he qu i ckd i spos i t i on o f ' i r r e l evan t and i mm at e r i a l ' f ac t s . W hi l e t he 'r e su l t i ng f ac t ua lacco un t m ay b e en t i r e l y accura t e , [ bu t] t he o rde r t ha t p rov i d es i ts g r amm ar , i t sl o g i c , a n d t h e c o n n e c t i v e s s e q u e n c i n g i t s c la u s e s w i l l b e p r o v i d e d b y s c h e m a t aor i g i na t i ng i n t he d i scour se r a t he r t han by an exp l i ca t i on o f ac t ua l soc i a lr e l a t i ons ' (S mi t h 1988 : 170). I n the p r esen t con t ex t , t hese schemat a i nc l udecons i de ra t i ons o f r e l evance i nhe ren t tO t he p roces s o f t he cha rac t e r i za t i on o f t hei s sue .

Doro t hy S mi t h (1990b: 49) de f i nes i r r e l evan t ma t e r i a l a s 'ma t e r i a l whi chn e i t h e r ( a ) e s ta b l i sh e s t h e a d e q u a c y o f t h e a u t h o r i z a t io n p r o c e d u r e s u s e d n o r(b ) i s approp r i a t e t o and ca n hen ce be appropr i a t ed i n t e rp r e t i ve l y by t hec o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k . ' S m i t h g o e s o n t o a r g u e t h at , in t h e c o n t e x t o f s o c i a lo r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e r e a d e r/ h e a r e r d o e s n o t h a v e t h e a d v a n t a g e o f b e i n g a b l e t o g ob a c k t o t h e e x p e r i e n c e r t o g a t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m w h i c h t o c o n s t r u c t a lt e r n a -t i v e ac c o u n t s . S h e c o n t r a s ts t h is p r o c e s s w i th t h e c o u r t o f la w i n w h i c hw i t n e s s e s m a y p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t c a n f o r m t h e b a s i s f o r a l t e r n a t i v ea c c o u n t s . S m i t h ' s c o n c l u s i o n s s h o u ld b e u s e d c a u t io u s l y . T h e l e g a l o r g a n i z a -t i o n o f p r i m a r y n a r r a ti v e s t a k e s p l a c e l o n g b e f o r e a p e r s o n e v e r a p p e a r s a s aw i t n e s s i n a c o u r t r o o m . I n t h e u s u a ll y l e n g t h y p r o c e s s o f d e f i n in g l e g a lr e l e v a n c e a n d w o r k i n g u p t h e c a s e , t h e c l ie n t m a y c o m e t o a c c e p t t h e le g a l l y -r e l e v a n t v e r s i o n a s h e r o w n . E v e n i f h e r c a s e g o e s t o c o u r t ( m o s t fa m i l y l a wc a s e s d o n o t ) , a n y a t t e m p t b y h e r t o r e s h a p e h e r s t o r y a s i t a p p e a r s in c o u r td o c u m e n t s m a y t h r e at e n h e r c r e d i b il i ty b e f o r e t h e c o u r t. S h e w i l l l ik e l y n o tu n d e r t a k e s u c h a c o u r s e o f a c t i o n w h e r e t h e c u s t o d y o f h e r c h i l d re n a n d h e r o rt he i r eco nom i c fu t u r e i s a t s take . 33 T hus t he c l i en t w i ll p roba b l y accep t t hev e r s i o n o f h e r s t o r y c r e a t e d f r o m t h e l e g a l l y - r e le v a n t f a c ts i d e n t i fi e d b y h e rl awy er . 34

T h e p rob l em wi t h an edu ca t i on t ha t t ra i ns l awyer s t o hone t he i r d i s ti l l a ti onsk i l l s is t ha t i t has a non - r e f l ex i v e cha rac t e r i n t ha t it becom es secon d na t u r e fo rt he l awyer . F o r t he mos t pa r t, s tuden t s a r e no t tr a i ned t o th i nk abou t why so met h i ngs a r e r e l evan t and o t he r s a r e no t . No r a r e t hey t o l d abou t t he d i s t re s s t heywi l l cause t he i r c l i en t s when t he y d i smi s s ou t o f hand som e pa r t s o f t he ir s to r i e s


11/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 63as be i ng i r r e l evan t t o the lega l i s sue . Ques t i ons abou t wh ose i n t e r e s t s a r er e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e p r o c e s s o f c h a r a c t e r i z in g t h e i s s u e a r e s t i ll e d b y t h e m y t h o ft h e n e u t r a li t y o f la w , a n d b y i m p l i c a ti o n , l e ga l m e t h o d . T h e g e n d e r e d a s p e c t so f l e g a l p r o c e s s e s a r e th u s f r e q u e n t l y i g n o r e d . Y e t e v e n w h e n t h e y a r e n o to v e r l o o k e d , t h e r e r e m a i n s t h e e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t t h e n e w l y - g r a d u a t e d l a w y e r w i l lpos ses s and use t he s i f t i ng sk i l ls she h as been t augh t . 3s I n t h i s con t ex t ,r e c o g n i t i o n o f g e n d e r i s s u es d o e s n o t t r a n sl a t e i n t o c o n s i d e ra t io n s o f h o wp r a c t i c e r e i n f o r c e s g e n d e r e d o r g a n i z a ti o n .

M a r y J a n e M o s s m a n ( 1 9 8 6 ) h a s a r t i c u la t e d t h e d i ff i c u lt i e s t h is p r o c e s s m a yp o s e f o r f e m i n i st l a w y e rs . M o s s m a n p o s i t s t h e p o s s ib i l it y t h a t ' f o r t h e f e m i n i s tw h o i s a ls o a l a w y e r , t h e e f f o r t o f " d o u b l e t h i n k " m a y b e b o t h t a x i n g a n du l t i ma t e l y f r us t r a t i ng ; t he needs o f c l i en t s r equ i r e he r t o become h i gh l yp r o f i c i e n t a t l e g a l m e t h o d a t t h e s a m e t i m e a s h e r f e m i n i s t c o m m i t m e n t d r i v e she r t o cha l l en ge t he v a l i d i t y o f i ts un de r l y i ng r a t i ona l e ' ( 1986 : 45) . 36 I n t hef o l l o w i n g s e c ti o n I w i l l d e s c r ib e h o w a n d e x p l a i n w h y t h e p r i m a r y n a r r a ti v e o ft he c l i en t i s d i s ca r ded f o r t he f ac t s .L E G A L M E T H O D A N D C H A R A C T E R I Z A T I O N O F T H E I S S U E:F R O M P R I M A R Y N A R R A T I V E T O TH E F A C T S

J a n e c o m e s t o m y o f f i c e . S h e i s d is t r au g h t a n d b e g i n s t o c r y a l m o s t a s s o o n a sshe a r r i ves . S he s i ts ac r os s f r om me an d I a sk he r why she has com e t o s ee me .S he r ep l i e s :

L a s t n i g h t Jo h n c a m e h o m e a n d s a i d h e w a s l e a v i n g t o li v e w i th a f r i e n d . . .I d o n ' t w h y h e l e f t .. . I t h o u g h t th i n g s w e r e g o i n g a l r ig h t . . . s o a n y w a y , Is t a r t ed c r y i ng , and t hen t he k i ds s t a r ted c r y i ng beca use t hey knew t ha t I wasups e t . . , he s a i d al l o f t h is i n f r on t o f t he k ids , you kn ow . . , t hen t he k ids a skedm e i f d a d d y w a s l e a v i n g b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e b a d . . . w e l l t h a t j u s t m a d e i tw o r s e . . , a n d h e c a l l e d m e a u s e le s s b i tc h a n d t h e n h e s l a m m e d t h e d o o r a n dleft .

F r om t h i s na r ra t i ve , a f t e r e s t ab l ish i ng t he l ega l r e l a t i onsh i p be t ween Jan e andJoh n - mar r i ed o r cohab i t ees - J ane ' s s t o r y w i l l be r econs t r uc t ed a s a l ega li s sue . E x t r ac t ed f r om Jane ' s s t o r y is t he i dea t ha t: ' J ane and John a r e l i v i ngsepa r a t e and apa r t . ' T h e anx i e t y o f t he ch i l d r en and t he pa i n J ane i s su f f e r i ngi s obsc ur ed a s J ane ' s s t o r y i s t r ans l a ted i n t o a l ega l cause o f ac t ion . I n h i s wo r kon soc i a l wor ke r s , Z i mmer man ( 1974) a r gues t ha t t he app l i can t i s s een a s acour s e o f ac t i on . I n l ega l d i s cour se , a s i mi l a r p r oces s o ccur s i n t he d i s ti l li ng o ft he c l i en t ' s s t o r y i n t o f ac ts whi ch con nec t t o a lega l cause o f ac t i on . As D r uc i l l aC o m e U ( 1 9 9 1 : 1 0 9 ) p o i n t s o u t , if a w o m a n ' s ' c l a im s ti ll c a n n o t b e a d e q u a t e l yt r ans l a ted , he r ha r m goes un no t i ced . I f she l i e s com pl e t e l y ou t s i de the cur r en tr e p r e s e n ta t i o n o f j u s ti c e , h e r h a r m , a n d i n d e e d h e r v e r y s e l f d is a p p e a r s . '

T he p r i mar y na r r a t i ve i s d i s sec t ed , s e l ec t i ons made , and t hen t he s t o r y i sr eas sem bl ed i n a ma nne r tha t suppor t s and i s suppor t ed by l ega l d i s cour se . T h i s


12/22

64 Crit ical Criminology, V olum e 7, Nu m ber 1, Spring, 1996or gan iza t ion o f consc iousnes s i s gu ided by lega l d i s cour se which i s , fo r them os t pa r t , unseen by the c l i en t , excep t f o r occas iona l exp lana tor y t id - b i t sof f e r ed by the l awyer . How can we u nder s tand the r e f r am ing of the s to r y , apr oces s w hich o ccur s in a m ul t i tude o f d i sc ip l ines?

S m i th ( 1990b) o f f e r s ins igh t in to th i s ques t ion in the con tex t o f he r d i s cus -s ion of ' K i s m enta l ly i l l .' I n tha t ana lys i s , S m i th decon s t r uc t s the p roces s bywhich K i s a s ses sed by he r f r i ends and by a s tuden t in te r v iewer a s be ingm en ta l ly i l l. S m i th exp l ica te s in de ta i l the cons t ruc t ion of soc ia l f ac tssur r ounding K , K ' s d i squa l i f ica t ion f r om tha t p r oces s , and h ow the ' f ac t s ' a r ewor k ed up to en te r the d i s cour se o f m enta l i l lnes s .

At a gene r a l l eve l , the r econs t i tu t ion of a s to r y in to the f ac t s wor ks tom ain ta in the au thor i ty o f m edica l d i s course . The sam e can be s a id about ther econs t i tu t ion of the p r im ar y na r r a t ive o f the l ega l c l ien t . The s to rie s o f wom enar e obscur ed a s they a r e r ep laced by f ac t s c r ea ted by m or e qua l i f i ed s to r yte l le r s , be they psycholo g is t s o r l awyer s o r , in the case o f K ' s f r iends , those whom or e c lose ly conf or m to idea l s o f nor m al i ty . S m i th ( 1990b: 48) o f f e rs f u r the rins igh t in to th i s p r oces s . S he iden t i f i e s wha t she ca l l s ' au thor iza t ion r u le s , 'de f ined a s the c r i t e r i a to be used by the r eade r /hea r e r in de te r m in ing theadequ acy o f the desc r ip tion and the c r ed ib i l i ty o f the account .Lega l r u le s o f au thor iza t ion g ive au tom at ic p r im acy to the account o f thel a w y e r .37 In her s tudy of fem ale law-breake rs , ~ An ne Worral l (1990: 20)desc r ibes the r o le o f the so l ic i to r a s be ing ' to occup y tha t gap be tween thede f en dan t ' s account and the m agis t r a te s r ecogni t ion of tha t account . Theso l ic i to r ' s t a sk i s to negot ia te the p rec i se r ou te wher eby tha t gap i s c losed . I ti s a t a sk which r equ i r e s bo th sk i l l and au thor i ty . ' C lea r ly , the lawy er ' s accountbecom es the accep ted ve r s ion of ' the fac t s . ' The l aw yer wor ks to keep the' m es sy s tu f f " ou t o f the cour t r oom . Wo r r a l l desc ribes l ega l r epr esen ta tion a s :

a p r oces s o f de f end ing the cour t aga ins t the unaccep tab l i ty o f the l aype r son ' scom m o n sense wh ich , un l ike m agis te r ia l com m o n sense , is pe rce ived to be' o u t o f p la c e , o u t o f t i m e , o u t o f m i n d a n d o u t o f o r d e r ' . . . a n d c o n s e q u e n t l ya da nger ous in t r us ion in the p r oceed ings . ( 1990: 19)

The ana lys i s o f the r u le s o f au thor iza t ion which see the l aw yer ' s account a sva l id and the c l i en t ' s account a s an in t r us ion i s pa r t i cu la r ly t r i cky in l aw,because l awye r s c la im to be ac t ing in the in te res t s o f the i r c li en t s and on the i rc l i en t s ' ins t r uc tions .W or r a l l ( 1990: 22) d i s cus ses the a r t if i c ia l na tu r e o f the l aw yer s ' c la im s toac t ion on the bas is o f c l i en t ' s ins t ruc t ions . The no t ion of ' t ak ing ins t r uc t ions 'm ask s the pow er r e la t ions invo lved in the so l ic i to r /c l i en t r e la tionsh ip .39

The im pl ica t ion i s tha t they , a s s e r van ts , ar t i cu la te wi th co nf idence andcom pe tence in pub l ic tha t which the de f endant has s a id ne r vous ly and


13/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 65ha l t i ng l y i n p r i va t e . Bu t wha t i n f ac t happens i n t ha t a p r i v i l eged d i scour s ei s c o n s t r u c t e d f r o m t h e b r o k e n u t t e ra n c e s o f t h e p o w e r l es s . D i s c o n t i n u i t y i sr e n d e r e d c o n t i n u o u s , c o n t r a d i ct i o n r e n d e r e d c o h e r e n t , a n d f r a g m e n t a t i o nr e n d e r e d u n i f ie d . A g r i d i s p l a c e d o v e r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s a n d e m o t i o n s o f t h ed e f e n d a n t a n d a r e c o g n i z a b l e re a d i n g o b t a i n e d .

T h e i dea t ha t t he c l i en t con t r o l s t he d i rec t i on o f t he p r oces s obscur es t he wa ysi n w h i c h l e g a l m e t h o d s e r v e s t o n a r r o w l y d e t e r m i n e w h i c h a s p e c t s o f t h ec l i en t ' s s t o r y and t he c l i en t ' s l i f e a r e r e l evan t .4~

T h e p r i m ar y na r r a t i ve i s a l so tr ans l a t ed4 t i n t o l ega l e se f o r t he be ne f i t o f t hepr of e s s i on ( S mi t h 1990b: 48) . I f t he f ac t s a r e p r ope r l y wor ked up , a ll mem ber so f t h e p r o f e s s i o n s h o u l d b e a b l e t o i d e n t if y t h e c a u s e o f a c t io n o r t h e l e g a lr e l eva nce o f t he fac t s p r e sen t ed . T h i s ana l ys i s has sub t l e d i men s i ons i n l aw , f o rt he cause o f ac t i on m us t be exp l i c i t l y s t a t ed ; t he r e f o r e , the r e i s no g ues s i ng a st o w h e t h e r t h i s is a d i v o r c e o r a c u s t o d y h ea r in g . H o w e v e r , s e e m i n g l y s i m p l es t a t eme nt s i n l ega l docume nt s , such a s an a f f i dav i t , have r e f e r en t s t ha t a r e on l yl i k e ly t o b e i d e n t if i e d b y o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e p r o f es s i o n o r t h o s e w h o a r eex t r e me l y f ami l i a r w i t h l ega l d i s cour se .

Re t u r n i ng t o J ane , i n t r oduced a t t he beg i nn i ng o f t h i s s ec t i on , t he s t a t eme nt' J ane a nd John a r e l iv i ng sepa r a t e and apa r t ' i mpl i e s , among o t h e r t h ings , t ha tJ a n e c a n p e t it i o n f o r d i v o r c e u n d e r t h e D i v o r c e A c t . B u t t h e l a w y e r s h a p e s t h es t o r y , no t on l y f o r i ts p r e sen t a t i on t o t he p r o f es s i on , bu t a l so f o r t he c l ien t . T h es t o r y i s r e -p r e s e n t e d t o t h e c li e n t, w h o m a y c o m e t o a c c e p t a n e w , l e g a l l y - c o d e dv e r s i o n o f t h e s t o r y a s h e r o w n . T h i s a c c e p t a n c e i s e s p e c ia l l y t ru e i f t h e m a t t e rac t ua l l y goes t o cour t . T he l aw yer ' p r epa r es ' t he c l i en t f o r t r ia l , a p r oc es s t ha ti n v o l v e s r e v i e w i n g t h e c l i e n t' s s t o r y i n t h e f r a m e w o r k c o n s t r u c t e d b y l e g a ld i s c o u r s e. T h i s r e v i e w m a y i n v o l v e a f u r t h e r fi n e - tu n i n g o f t h e c l i e n t ' s s t o r y .T he cha r ac t e r i za t i on o f t he i s sue i s a dynami c p r oces s , i nvo l v i ng t hec o n t i n u o u s r e s h a p i n g o f t h e s to r y d e p e n d i n g o n t h e f o ru m - t h e c o u r t r o o m o rt he a f f i dav i t . I n t he p r oces s o f t he cha r ac t e r i za t i on o f the i s sue , a s has b eena r gued , docum ent s / t ex t s p l ay a cen t r a l ro l e . S mi t h ( 1990b) po i n t s ou t t ha t t heope r a t i on o f a t ex t depends on t he r eade r ' s i n t e r p r e t i ve p r ac t i ces whi ch a r esoc i a l i n o r i g i n . I n t he con t e x t o f l ega l t ex t s , such a depen denc e has s e r i ousi mpl i ca t i ons f o r wome n. No t on l y i s t he woma n/ c l i en t ' s s t o r y d i s t i l led i n t ol ega l f ac t ua l f o r m by t he l awyer , bu t it is t hen i n t e rp r e t ed by a j udge . W e a r es t il l a t a po i n t , unf o r t una t e l y ,42 whe n w e can a s sum e t ha t t he j udg e w i l l l i ke l yb e m a l e , o n e w h o m a y f u r t h e r o b s c u r e t h e w o m a n ' s r e a l it y t h r o u g h t h ei mpo s i t i on o f m a l e - cen t r ed i n t e r p r e t i ve p r ac t i ces .

Bu t t ex t s on l y r epr esen t pa r t o f the t r ans l a t ion o f t he s t o r y . T he r e a r e o t he r ,mo r e i nv i s i b l e p r ac t i ces i nvo l ve d in t he cha r ac t e r i za t i on o f t he i s sue t ha t t akep l ace be h i nd t he c l osed door s o f t he l awy er ' s o f f i ce , and t ha t , t h r ough e t h i ca lr u l e s o f c o n f i d e n t i a li t y g o v e r n i n g t h e l e g a l p r o f e s s i o n , a re a l m o s t e x c l u d e df r om exam i na t i on . 43


14/22

6 6 Cri t ica l Cr iminology , Volume 7 , Nu mb er 1 , Spr i ng , 1996E T HIC A L B O U N D A R I E S -O B S T A C L E S T O L E G A L E T H N O G R A P H Y

T h e C o d e o f P r o f e s s io n a l C o n d u c t prov ides fo r l awyers d i rec t ives on thee th ica l a spec t s o f the p rac t i ce o f l aw. Chapte r F our i s ded ica ted to thed i scus s ion of ' conf iden t ia l in form a t ion . ' The ru le s t ate s :

The l awy er has a du ty to ho ld in s t r i c t conf iden ce a ll in form a t ion conce rn ingthe bus ines s and a f fa i r s o f the c l i en t acqu i red in the course o f the p rofes s iona lre la t ionsh ip , and should no t d ivu lge such in form a t ion un les s d i s c losure i sexpres s ly o r im pl ic i t ly au thor ized by the c l i en t , requ i red by l aw or o the rwisepe rm i t t ed o r requ i red by th i s Code .

The ' gu id in g pr inc ip le s ' a t t em pt to c la r i fy any am bigu i t i e s .3 As a gene ra l ru le , the l awyer should no t d i s c lose hav ing been consu l ted o r

re ta ined by a pe rson un les s the na ture o f the m a t te r requ i re s suchdisc losure .

4 The l a wy er owes a du ty o f s ec recy to eve ry c l i en t wi thou t excep t ion ,rega rd le s s o f wh e the r i t be a con t inu ing or casua l c li en t . Th e du ty surv ivesthe p rofes s iona l re la t ionsh ip and co n t inues inde f in i t e ly a f t e r the l awy erhas ceased to ac t fo r the c l i en t , whe the r o r no t d i f fe rences have a r i senb e t w e e n t h e m .

This s ec recy pe r ta ins to bo th the iden t i ty o f the c l i en t m ad the na ture /con ten t o fthe c l i en t ' s case .Rules o f so l i c i to r c l i en t conf iden t ia l i ty have a num ber o f e f fec t s: theyobscure the p roces s by w hich a wom an ' s s to ry i s coded to en te r l ega l d i s course ,they preven t wom en f rom sha r ing the i r s to r i e s , and they preven t c r i t i ca l ly -m i n d e d l a w y e r s*~ (and o the rs ) f ro m d eve lop ing a s ses sm ents o f the loca lwork ings o f l ega l m e th od based on the i r expe r iences in p rac ti ce .

T h e l a tt e r d i f f ic u l t y h a s b e e n w e l l d o c u m e n t e d b y D a n e t , H o f f m a n , a n dKer m ish (1980) in the i r a t t em pted s tu dy of so l i c i to r / c l ien t in te rac t ions in theBos ton a rea . Even tua l ly abor ted ,45 the s tudy was an a t t em pt to exp lorelanguag e and i t s use in the t rans form a t ion of c l i en t s ' s to r i e s fo r en t ry in to l ega ld i s course . In a d i s cus s ion of the fa i lu re o f the i r s tudy Dane t , Hoffm an , andKerm ish (1980) iden t i fy ru le s o f so l i c i to r -c l ien t p r iv i l ege a s a m a jor obs tac leto m uch-ne eded soc ia l s c ience re sea rch in the a rea o f so l i c i to r -c l i en t in te rac -t ions .46 This ve i l o f s ec recy i s e spec ia l ly ha rm fu l to wom en who a re f requen t lyexc lude d f rom the soc ia l suppor t ne tworks ava i l ab le to m en .

The deve lop m en t o f subvers ive t ac t i cs neces sa r i ly invo lves ( I th ink) com -m un ica t ions be tween w om en about the i r expe r iences wi th in l ega l d i s course .W h i l e m a n y w o m e n w h o e n t e r t h e r e a lm o f l e g al d i s c o u r s e a ls o h a v e c o n t a c t


15/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 67wi th an end les s pa rade o f s e rv ice p rov ide rs , they s e ldom have con tac t wi th eachothe r .The d i f fus ion of po l i t ica l ac t iv i sm tha t cou ld po ten t i a l ly a r is e ou t o f suchcontac t i s fac i l i ta t ed by e th ica l ru le s p rese rv ing so l i c ito r / c li en t conf iden t ia l i ty .F or ex am ple , w om en fee l f rus t ra t ion when the i r s to r i es a re re shaped in to l ega ld i s course th rough the p roces s o f the cha rac te r i za t ion o f the i s sue . S ubjec t ivem eanings a re los t because o f the ind iv idua l na tu re o f the i r en t ry in to tha tp roces s . Rules o f conf iden t ia l i tyensure tha t wom en as c l i en t s rem a in i so la ted ,a l ienate d uni ts - perfe ct liberal mo dels of freely contrac t ing ' se lves .'47 Thepoten t i a l exp los ion of co l l ec t ive ange r ove r the i r t rea tm ent i s d i f fused bya r t i f ic ia l e th ica l cons t ruc ts such a s so l i c i to r / c li en t conf iden t ia li ty . W hi le m a lelawyers d rop ' b ig ' c l i en t ' s nam es to each o the r on the go l f course , i t i s a b reachof conf iden t ia l i ty fo r wo m en to connec t the i r fem a le c li en t s who have suf fe redind ign i t i e s im po sed by l aw and l ega l m e thod .

The l im i ta t ions o f so l i c i to r / c l i en t conf iden t ia l i ty pose som e d i f f i cu l t i e s fo rthe use o f l ega l e thnography . C lea r ly , the m os t im por tan t s to ry , tha t o f the c l i en t( the p r im ary na r ra t ive ) , wi l l no t a lways be ava i l ab le . The m un dane and theloca l m ay no t be read i ly recoverab le. One pos s ib le rem ed y to th i s m ay be tocons t ruc t a pseudo-pr im ary na r ra t ive , to use Chr i s Dora n ' s (1992: 23) phrase ,based on the ava i l ab le in form a t ion . S m i th (1990a) has em ployed th i s t ech-n ique ; however , a s i s i llus t ra ted in Doran ' s ana lys i s (1992:21-31 ; 1993) , theconsequ ence m a y be s im ply to rep lace one p r iv il eged ve rs ion of the p r im arynar ra t ive wi th ano the r .4s A lternat ive , non-leg al (decentred) s t ra tegies maythe re fore have an im por tan t ro le to p lay .I f awarenes s o f the po ten t i a l ly gendered na ture o f l ega l m e thod i s he igh t -ened , a s m o re and m o re fem in i s t a re ab le to converse in l ega l d i s course , theym ay deve lop bo th loca l so lu t ions ( such a s encourag ing wom en to t e l l the i rs to r ies in o the r fo rum s) and fem in i s t lega l m e thods . As we l l , they m ay be be t t e rab le and m ore w i l l ing to expose the b ia sed na ture o f t rad i t iona l (m a les t ream )lega l m e thods . They m a y dem and new concep tua l i za t ions o f re levance , aproces s tha t has to som e ex ten t a l ready begun in the a rea o f subs tan t ive l aw.49

M y po in t i s no t tha t w e should aban don e th ica l ru le s o f conf iden t ia l i ty ; bu t ,that , too often, they are accepted as neutra l in their appl icat ion and effects . Th ebenef i t s o f m a in ta in ing the p r iva te sphe re o f the l awye r ' s o f f i ce need to b erev iewed . As a m echanism tha t m ay obscure the work ing of the p roces s o fcha rac te r i za tion o f the i s sue , e th ica l ru le s need to be t aken ve ry s e r ious ly a spo ten t i a l pa r tne rs in the co l lus ion of l aw in the pe rpe t ra tion o f the s i l enc ing ofw o m e n ' s o p p r e s si o n .CONCLUSIONThe exp lora t ion o f the m un dane a spec t s o f l ega l m e thod th rough lega l e thnog-raphy i s no t an a l l -encom pass ing s t ra tegy . Obv ious ly , it m us t be accom paniedby o the r e f fo r t s , inc lud ing subs tan t ive l aw re form ;5~ he use of local , non- legal


16/22

68 Cri t i ca l Cr imino logy , Vo lume 7 , Nu mb er 1 , Spr ing , 1996so l u t i ons t ha t ac t t o decen t r e t he l aw; and t he con t i nued a r t i cu l a t ion , exp l o ra -t io n , a n d u s e o f f e m i n i s t l e g a l m e t h o d s .

A s C a r o l S m a r t ( 1 9 8 9 : 6 ) p o i n t s o u t , w o m e n h a v e h a d a t e n d e n c y t o r e l y t o omu ch on l aw as a so l u t i on to t he i r sys t ema t i c d i sc r i mi na t i on . S ma r t a rgues fo rw h a t s h e c a l l s a ' d e c e n t r i n g ' o f th e l a w - a d i s p l a c e m e n t o f la w f r o m i ts p o s it i o na t t h e a p e x o f t h e h i e r a r c h y o f d is c o u r s e s. G i v e n t h e o b s ta c l e s to a l e g a le t h n o g r a p h y t h a t b e g i n s w i t h a n e x p l o r a t i o n o f t he m u n d a n e , S m a r t ' s s t r a te g yi s v a lu a b l e . F o r e x a m p l e , s o m e p r a c t it i o n e rs h a v e d e v e l o p e d s o l u ti o n s to t h eba r r i e r s o f l ega l e t h i c s ; f emi n i s t l awyer s have l ea rne d t o conn ec t t he i r c l i en t st o w o m e n ' s c e n t r e s a n d o t h e r w o m e n - c e n t r e d s e r v i c e s in t h e h o p e s o f f a c i li ta t -i n g c o n t a c t a m o n g w o m e n . I n c o n t r a s t t o g r a n d t h e o r ie s , th e s e s o l u ti o n s h a v ee m e r g e d a t t h e l o c a l l e v e l in o r d e r t o m e e t t h e s p e c i fi c n e e d s o f i n d i v i d u a lw o m e n . I f w e c a n c l a im t h a t S m a r t ' s ( 1 9 8 9 ) a r g u m e n t f o r a d e c e n tr i n g o f t h el a w e n c o m p a s s e s t h e d e c e n t r i n g o f l e g al m e t h o d , t h e n s u r e l y th i s t y p e o f lo c a l ,s p e c i f i c so l u t io n t h a t w i l l s e r v e t o e m p o w e r w o m e n r a t h e r th a n i n c r e a s in g t h e i rdep end enc e on l aw and t he i r vu l ne rab i l i ty t o l ega l me t hod . T h i s i s no t t o s ayt ha t l ega l e t hnograp hy i s i mposs i b l e ; bu t , i t cann o t be r e l ied upon as t he s i ngu l a rs t r at e g y . E m p i r i c a l a t t e m p t s t o e x p l o r e th e m u n d a n e a s p e c t s o f l e g a l m e t h o dw i l l re v e a l s u b t l e a s p e c t s o f t h e g e n d e r e d n a t u r e o f l e g a l m e t h o d t h a t h a v e n o ty e t b e e n r e c o v e r ed .

B y e x p l o r i n g t h e p r o c e s s o f t h e c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f l e g a l i s s u e s a s a ne x c l u s i o n a r y p r o c e s s e n a c t e d a t t h e m u n d a n e l e v e l t h at r e p r o d u c e s la w a s at r u th , w e c a n b e g i n t o e x p o s e t h e g e n d e r e d n a t u r e o f t h a t w h i c h is e x c l u d e d .T h r o u g h t h e e x p l i c a ti o n o f t h e s e p r o c e s s e s , w e c a n c o n n e c t th e l o c a l o r t h eeve ryd ay to t he i ns ti t u t iona l . As has been d i scussed , t he r e a r e obs t ac l e s no te n c o u n t e r e d i n o t h e r d i s c o u r s e s t h a t m a y m e a n m u n d a n e p r a c t i c e s w il l h a v e t ob e r e c o v e r e d n o t b y p r o c e e d i n g f r o m t h e e v e r y d a y p r a c t i c e o f la w t o t h ei n s ti tu t i o n al , b u t w h e r e n e c e s s a r y , f r o m t h e c o u r t r o o m t o t h e l a w y e r ' s o f f i c e .W h i l e s u c h a s i tu a t io n i s n o t i d e a l , a n d i n d e e d e v e r y d a y p r a c t i c e s m a y w e l l b eb e y o n d r e c o v e r y , t h e d i s c o v e r y o f t h e m u n d a n e p r a c t ic e s a t t h e l o ca l l e v e l ,h o w e v e r p a r t ia l , i s a w o r t h w h i l e e n d e a v o u r .

I t is c r i t i ca l t o s ea r ch ou t t he way s by whi ch l ega l me t h od ac t s t o ma i n t a i nw o m e n ' s o p p r e s s i o n in w h a t e v e r f o r m t h a t m a y t a k e - f o r in d i v id u a l w o m e nand fo r wom en as a g roup . F em i n i s t s t r a teg i e s mu s t be mul t i - s i ted andm u l t i f a c e te d , r e fl e c t i n g th e d i v e r s e n a t u r e o f w o m e n ' s l iv e s . E m p i r i c al w o r kt h a t b e g in s w i t h w o m e n ' s s t o r ie s a n d e x p l i c a te s h o w t h e y a r e re s h a p e d b e h i n dt h e c l o s e d d o o r s o f l a w y e r ' s o f f i c e s to c o n f o r m t o c a t e g o r i e s m a n d a t e d b y l e g a ld i s c o u r s e i s o n e s u c h s t r a te g y .NOTE S

M a c K i n n o n s a y s : ' I p r o p o s e t h a t t h e s t a t e i s m a l e i n t h e f e m i n i s t s e n s e . T h e l a w s e e s a n d t r e a t sw o m e n t h e w a y m e n s e e a n d t re a t w o m e n ' ( 1 9 8 7 : 1 3 ). L u c i n d a M . F i n l e y ta k e s a s i m i l a rp o s i t io n : ' l e g a l l a n g u a g e a n d r e a s o n i n g i s g e n d e r e d , a n d t h a t g e n d e r m a t c h e s t h e m a l e g e n d e r


17/22

Lori Beaman-Hall 6 9o f i t s l i n g u i s t i c a r c h i t e c t s ' ( 1 9 8 9 : 1 9 2 ) . L a t e r i n t h e s a m e a r t i c l e , s h e r e f e r s t o l e g a l r e a s o n i n ga n d l a n g u a g e a s m a l e ( 1 9 8 9 : 1 9 3) . K a t h l e e n A . L a h e y d e s c r i b e s l a w a s p a t ri a r c h a l ( 1 9 8 9 :1 0 0 ) . C a r r i e M e n k e l - M e a d o w a l s o , d e s c r i b e s l a w , a t l e a s t h i s to r i c a l l y , a s m a l e ( 1 9 9 2 : 1 4 9 3 ) .R o b i n W e s t d i s c u s s e s m o d e m j u r i s p r u d e n c e a s m a s c u l i n e ( 1 9 88 : 5 8 ) .

2 T h r o u g h o u t t h e e s s a y , I w i l l d r a w f r o m m y e x p e r i e n c e i n n e a r l y fi v e y e a rs o f l e g al p r a c t ic et h a t c e n tr e d m a i n l y o n f a m i l y la w . M o s t o f m y c l i en t s w e r e w o m e n , m a n y o f t h e m r e l y i n g o np r o v i n c i a l l e g a l a i d t o p a y f o r t h e i rl e g a l s e r v ic e s . I t i s p ri m a r i l y w o m e n w h o m u s t s e e k s u p p o r tf o r t h e m s e l v e s a n d f o r t h e i r c h il d r e n fr o m m e n . W o m e n e n t e r l e g a l d i s c o u r s e i n o r d e r t o r e t ai nt h e r i g h t t o c o n t i n u e t o r a i s e t h e i r c h i l d r e n , h o p i n g t h a t t h e i r e c o n o m i c a l l y d i s a d v a n t a g e dp o s i t i o n w i l l n o t w o r k a g a i n s t t h e m . D u r i n g m y y e a r s i n p r a ct i c e, i t b e c a m e a p p a r e n t t h a tw o m e n ' s p o w e r l e s s n e s s i s e x ac e r b a t e d b y t h e l a w a n d b y l e g a l m e t h o d .

3 O b v i o u s l y F i n l e y ( 1 9 8 9 ) , a l s o W o r r a l l ( 1 9 9 0 ) , S m a r t ( 1 9 8 9 ) , a n d S c o tt ( 1 9 9 0 ) . S m i t h 0 9 8 7 :2 1 4 ) , a l t h o u g h n o t s p e c i fi c a ll y i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e l a w , d e v e l o p s a b r o a d n o r i o n o f d i s c o u r s e ,i n c l u d i n g c o n v e r s a t i o n s m e d i a t e d b y t e x t s th a t a r e ' u n d e r s t o o d a s e m b e d d e d i n a n d o r g a n i z i n gr e l a t i o n s a m o n g s u b j e c t s a c t i v e in t h e d i s c o u r s e . '

4 S m a r t (1 9 9 0 : 1 9 7 ) , w h i l e d r a w i n g o n F o u c a u l i ( 1 9 8 9 , C h a p t e r 1 , a l s o d i s t i n g u i s h e s h e r w o r kf r o m h i s . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t d i f f er e n c e is t h e c e n t ra l i ty o f w o m e n t o S m a r t ' s a n a l y s i s .5 I d o n o t n e c es s a r i l y a g r e e w i th S m a r t ' s p l a c e m e n t o f l a w a s c e n tr a l. A n n i e B u n t i n g ( 1 9 9 2 :8 4 1 ) a r t i c u l a t e s a r e l a t ed c r i t i c i s m . S h e s t a t e s : ' S m a r t c o n c e d e s t o o m u c h t o t h e l a w i n h e r

c o n t e n t i o n s r e g a r d i n g t h e r e s i l i e n c e o f t h e l a w i n t h e f a c e o f f e m i n l s t d i s c o u r s e s . I n t h i s r e s p e c ts h e h e r s e l f m a y o v e r i n fl a t e t h e l a w a n d i t s p o w e r s . '6 B u n t i n g ( 1 9 9 2 : 8 4 1 ) a l s o c r i r ic i z e s S m a r t o n t h i s g r o u n d . S h e s t a t e s : ' l a w a s a d l s c o u r s e o u g h t

n o t t o b e g i v e n s p e c i a l t r e a t m e n t b y f e m i n i s t s b y i g n o r i n g p o s s i b l e s t r a t eg i e s r e l e v a n t t ow o m e n . T o l e a v e p o l ic i e s u n e x a m i n e d a n d s t a ti c p r e s en t s m o r e r i s ks t h a n p a r ti c i p at i n g i n a ne x c l u s i o n a r y c a t e g o r y . ' T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a l t e r n a t i v e d i s c o u r s e s a s w e l l a s s t r a t e g i e si n v o l v i n g t h e l a w a r e n o t m u t u a l l y e x c l u s iv e .7 K a t h l e e n L a h e y ( 1 9 8 9 : 1 0 0 ) s t a te s in r e la r io n t o l eg a l m e t h o d : ' f e m i n i s t s h a v e c o n c l u d e d t h a tt h e t e r m s i n w h i c h l e g a l d i s c o u r s e i s c o n d u c t e d a r e p r o j e c ti o n s o f m a s c u l i n i s t s u b j e c ti v i t y ,w h i c h m e n a r e a b l e t o t r a n s f o rm i n t o ( f a l se ) u n i v e r s al s b y v i r t u e o f t h e p o w e r t h e y c a n e x e r tt o e n f o r c e t h e i r v i e w s . '8 S u s a n B o y d 0 9 9 1 : 9 7 ) d i s c u s s e s o n e o f t h e a d v a n t a g e s o f S m a r t ' s w o r k i n r el a t io n t o

d i s c o u r s e a n a l y s i s : ' O n e l i m i t a t i o n i n h e r e n t i n d i s c o u r s e a n a l y s i s i s th a t i t d o e s n o t g i v e a c l e a rs e n s e o f h o w d i s c o u r s e s a re c o n s t i tu t e d a n d r e p r o d u c e d, n o r h o w s o m e d i s c o u r s es c o m e t o b em o r e p o w e r f u l a n d p r i v i le g e d t h a n o t h e rs . C a r o l S m a r t ' s r e c e n t w o rk t a k e s u s s o m e d i s t a n c et o w a r d d o i n g t h i s b y a r g u i n g t h a t la w a s a f o r m o f d i s c o u r s e m a k e s c l a i m s t o t r ot h ; l a w t h u sc a n d i s q u a l i f y 's u b j u g a t e d k n o w l e d g e s ' s u c h a s w o m e n ' s k n o w l e d g e . "

9 K a t h a r i n e B a r tl e tt ( 1 9 9 0 ) p r o p o s e s t h a t f e m i n i s t s m u s t d e v e lo p w a y s t o b o t h d e c o n s t m c t a n dt h e n r e c o n s t r u c t l e g a l m e t h o d s . S h e s a y s : ' F e m i n i s t s n e e d a s t a n c e t o w a r d k n o w l e d g e t h a tt a k e s i n t o a c c o u n t t h e c o n t i n g e n c y o f k n o w l e d g e c l a i m s w h i l e a l l o w i n g f o r a c o n c e p t o f t r u t ho r o b j e c t i v it y t h a t c a n s u s t a i n a n a g e n d a f o r m e a n i n g f u l r e f o r m ' ( 1 9 9 0 : 8 7 9 ) . S h e a r g u e s f o rw h a t s h e c a l l s p o s i t i o n a l i t y , w h i c h a l l o w s f o r t h e p o s i t i n g o f t r u t h , b u t a s p a r t ia l a n d s i t u a t e d( 1 9 9 0 : 8 8 0 - 8 8 7 ) . U n l i k e B a r t l e t t , I d o n o t p r o p o s e i n t h i s e s s a y o o f f e r f e m i n i s t e g a l m e t h o d s .

1 0 B a r t l e t t (1 9 9 0 : 8 3 2 ) m a k e s a s i m i l a r c o m p a r i s o n : ' T r a d i t i o n a l l e g a l m e t h o d s p l a c e a h i g hp r e m i u m o n t h e p r e d i c t a b i li t y , c e r t a i n t y a n d f i x i t y o f r u l e s . I n c o n t r a s t , fe m i n i s t e g a l m e t h o d sw h i c h h a v e e m e r g e d f r o m t h e c r i t i q u e t h a t e x i s t i n g r u l e s o v e r r e p r e s e n t e x i s t i n g p o w e rs t r u c t u r e s , v a l u e r u l e - f l e x i b i l it y a n d t h e a b i l i t y to i d e n t i f y m i s s i n g p o i n t s o f v i e w . '

1 1 B o t h S m a r t ( 1 9 8 9 ) a n d S m i t h ( 1 99 0 b : 2 ) a c k n o w l e d g e t h e u s e f u l n e s s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s sr a i s in g . T h r o u g h c o n s c i o u s n e s s ra i s i n g , w o m e n c a n a t l e a st a t t e m p t t o s u b v e r t th e d e n i a l o fa c c e s s t o i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e x p l a n a t o r y c o n s t r u c t s t h a t h a v e f r e q u e n t l y g r o u n d e d t h e i ro p p r e s s i o n ( s e e G e r d a L e m e r 1 9 9 3 , f o r a d e v e l o p e d a n a l y s i s o f th i s t h e m e , p . 5 f o r h e ri n t r o d u c t io n o f t h i s t h e m e ) .1 2 M a c K i n n o n ' s w o r k h a s b e e n c r i ti c iz e d b y s o m e a s a t t e m p t i n g t o c r ea t e g r an d t h e o r y a n d g r a n ds o l u t i o n s - o f b e i n g e s s e n t i a l i s t . F o r o n e s u c h c r it i q u e , s e e A n g e l a H a r r is ( 1 9 9 0 ) . F o r ad e f e n c e o f M a c K i n n o n , s e e E l i z a b et h R a p p a p o r t (1 9 9 2 ). F o r M a c K i n n o n ' s o w n c o m m e n t so n t h i s i s s u e , s e e M a c K i n n o n ( 1 9 91 ) . T h e p r o b l e m o f e s s e n t i a l is m i s p r e s e n t l y a c e n t r a lc o n c e r n f o r f e m i n i s t s . I h a v e a v o i d e d a s p e c i f i c d i s c u s s i o n o f e s s e n t i a l i s m i n th i s e s s a y a s i t


18/22

70 Critical Criminology, Volum e 7, Nu mb er 1, Spring, 1996i s a t o p i c i n an d o f t s e l f . M y p ro p o s a l f o r m u h i f ace t ed s t r a t eg i e s ad d re s s e s ( i t i s h o p ed ) a t l e a s ta t s o m e m i n i m a l l ev e l t h e e s s en t i a l i s m i s s u e . S m i t h ' s ( 1 9 8 7 a , 1 9 8 7 b ) m e t h o d o l o g y i s , i n m yv i ew , i n h e ren t l y n o n -e s s en t i a l i s t i n t h a t i t b eg i n s w i t h an d p r e s e rv es t h e s i t ua t ed s u b j ecL

1 3 T h e re a r e s o m e c r i ti c i s m s o f co n s c i o u s n es s r a i s i n g a s cen tr a l . S m ar t , f o r ex am p l e , a rg u es th a t' i t i s a l s o n o t d e a r w h y t h e p r o c e s s o f c o n s c i o u sn e s s - ra i s in g s h o u l d " t a p " W o m a n ' sex p e r i en ce r a t h e r t h an t h e ex p e r i en ce o f w o m en a s co n s t ru c t ed b y m en ' ( 1 98 9 : 7 8 ) ; Wo r ra l l( 1 9 9 0 : 7 ) a rg u es t h a t co n s c i o u s n es s r a i s i n g i n i t s e l f s n o t en o u g h b ecau s e i t a s s u m es b o t h t h a tk n o w l ed g e l ead s t o ch a n g e an d t h a t t h e s e l f is ' p o t en t i a l l y a s p o w er fu l a s t h e s o u rces w h i chc o n s t it u t e " s o c i e t y . "1 4 B a r t l e t t ad d re s s e s t h i s i s s u e a s w e l l ; s h e ack n o w l ed g es t h a t l eg a l m e t h o d s s h ap e s u b s t an ce(1990: 844) .1 5 F o r a d i s cu s s i o n , s ee S ca l e s (1 9 8 6 : 7 3 ) .1 6 S ee , f o r ex am p l c , T . B re t t e l D aw s o n (1 9 8 7 ), A n n e Wo r raU (1 99 0 ), G ay l e M acD o n a l d (1 9 9 3 ) ,an d M o s s m an (1 9 8 6 ) .1 7 T h o s e ca s e s w e re : I n r e F r en ch (1 9 0 5 ), 3 7 N .B .R . 3 5 9 ; Edwards v. A.G.for Canada, [1930]A C 1 2 4 .1 8 A n n e Wo r raU ( 1 99 0 : 2 0 ) s ay s ab o u t p r ec . ed ent : q f l eg a l r ea s o n i n g w ere a s r i g i d a s t h e d o c t r i n eo f p r eced en t s u g g e s t s , t h e r e w o u l d b e n o n ee d fo r t h e e l o q u en ce an d rh e t o r i c o f l aw y e r s , f o rt h e f ac t s w o u l d s p eak fo r t h em s e l v es . "1 9 In d es c r i b i n g M o s s m an ' s w o rk , C a ro l S m ar t s e t s l eg a l m e t h o d o u t a s i n c l u d i n g b o u n d a ryd e f i n i t i o n , d e f i n i n g r e l ev an ce , an d c a s e an a l y s i s ( 1 9 8 9 : 2 1 ) .2 0 K a t h e r i n e O 'D o n o v a n (1 9 8 9 : 1 3 0) p o i n t s o u t t h a t ' t h e A m er i can l eg a l r ea l i st s , w h o w eres cep t i ca l o f t h e f 'm d i n g o f f ac t s an d ru l e s i n t h e l eg a l p ro ces s , m a d e a s i m i l a r p o i n t . B u t t h eyd i d n o t b r i n g o u t t h e p o l it i c a l n a t u r e o f t h e ex c l u s i o n o f v i ew p o i n t s . ' S ca l e s ( 1 9 8 6 ) m ak es a

s imi lar po in t .2 1 T h ey d es c r i b e t h e l eg a l co n s t ru c t io n o f th e c l ien t a s 'w h a t t h e leg a l p ro ces s v a l u es in h u m a nch a rac t e r an d w h a t i t w i s h es t o i g n o re , w h a t t h e p ro ces s v a l i d a t c s an d w h a t i t le av es fo r o t h e r st o r e i n fo r ce ' ( 1 9 8 6 : 9 6 ) .2 2 F o r ex am p l e , t h ey i d en t i f y a co n f l i c t b e t w een t h e c l i en t ' s d e s ir e s - i n t h e i r c a s e v i n d i ca t io n

- an d t h o s e o f t h e l aw y e r , w h o w i s h es t o r each a s eu l em en t ( 1 9 8 6 : 1 1 2 ) .2 3 S a ra t an d F e l s t i n e r s t a t e i n r e l a t io n t o t h e sp ec i f i c d i e n t w h o s e s t o ry t h ey u s e t o d ev e l o p t h e i ri d eas : 'T h e t r an s f e r en ce r e f lec t ed i n h e r r e f e r en ce t o a " k n i g h t in s h i n i n g a rm o u r , " a f em a l ec l i en t ' s s u b s t i t u d o u o f h e r m a l e l aw y e r fo r h e r f a i led h u s b an d , m ay n o t b e u n u s u a l i n d i v o rcecas es , b u t n o w h ere i n o u r s am p l e i s i t a s ex p l ic i t as i t i s h e r e ' ( 1 9 8 6 : 1 1 3 -1 1 4 ) . G i v en t h a t t h em a j o r i t y o f f am i l y l aw p rac t i t io n e r s a r e f em a l e , an d a s s u m i n g t h e h e t e ro s ex u a l i t y o f m an y o ft h e c l i en t s , t h i s s p ecu l a t i o n s e em s p a r t i cu l a r l y u n p ro d u c t i v e .2 4 H o s t i k a ( t 9 7 9 ) m ak e s i n t e r e s t in g u s e o f t h e co n cep t s o f f l o o r co n t ro l , o r t h e u s e o fco n v e r s a t i o n a l t i m e , an d t o p i c co n t ro l i n h i s an a l y s i s o f l aw y e r - c l i en t i n te r ac t i o n s .2 5 F o r an i n t e r e s t i n g d i s cu s s io n o f t h e a rt i f ic i a l c r ea t i o n o f o p p o s i t e s i n t h e c r i m i n a l l aw , s eeM arg u e r i t e R u s s eU (1 9 8 9 ).2 6 A t a b ro ad e r l ev e l , t h e ' i d eo l o g i ca l n a t u r e o f m u ch p r ev i o u s s o c i o l o g y ' (D o ran 1 9 9 2 : 3 1 ). F o ra d e t a i l ed c r i t i q u e o f S m i t h , s ee D o ran (1 9 9 2 , 1 9 9 3) .2 7 A g o o d ex am p l e o f r ev e r s a l i s w h a t Wo rm l l ( 1 9 9 0) d es c r i b e s a s ' t ak i n g i n s tru c t i o n ' f r o m t h ec l i en t . T h i s co n cep t i s u s ed t o i m p l y t h a t w o m e n f r ee l y m ak e ch o i ce s i n t h e p ro ces

beaman - 1996 - legal ethnography exploring the gendered nature of legal method

Documents