Kindness in Court in Aotearoa New Zealand
Kindness in Court in Aotearoa New Zealand

Summary/Abstract: Those caught up in criminal court processes are often seen as ‘undeserving’ of kindness. However, specialist courts based on the principles of non-adversarial justice use legal processes in an empathetic manner to give voice to defendants and address their health and social needs. Using Clegg and Rowland’s conceptualisation of kindness, this paper examines the performance of kindness in one specialist court, Te Kōti o Timatanga Hou. Drawing on a qualitative evaluation of the court, we examine three elements of this performance: 1) active listening, being heard, and building connections; 2) kindness as a collective effort; and 3) the tough edge of kindness. Despite the confines of the largely monocultural, Pākehā (New Zealand European) criminal justice system in which Māori and Pasifika are over-represented, the court performs a kindness that can be transformative for court participants and the court process itself.

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