Constructing remorse: Interactional dimensions of finding an emotion

Emotion, including remorse, is generated, recognised, labelled, interpreted and managed through social interaction in different settings. An important location for understanding remorse is the sentencing process in a courtroom, a social as well as legal setting. Sentencing law tends to assume remorse is a quality residing within and experienced by an individual that must be demonstrated in court, so its genuine presence ( or absence) can be perceived and considered by the judicial officer. Using interviews with judicial officers, in-court observa­tions and transcripts of sentencing hearings, this research investigates the ways remorse is expressed or claimed and how judicial officers assess these perfor­mances. The research shows how remorse, like other emotions, is constructed through social relations and interactions in the courtroom that are shaped by legal institutional requirements and everyday judicial practices. This construc­tion of remorse, and of the ideal defendant, is a collective project involving the judicial officer, the defence representative and the defendant.