Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

If we want to know exactly what goes on in the English Legal system, there has to be high quality empirical research that gathers the information which can tell us. In this podcast, I talk to Sharon Witherspoon, Deputy Director of the Nuffield Foundation, about the investment the Foundation has made over very many years in research on law and legal process.

Although the Foundation was established to fund scientific research, the trustees decided early on that this should include social science research. Sharon Witherspoon discusses how the Foundation first engaged in research on law, and also refers to more recent examples. She makes clear how good research can influence the development of the law and legal policy.

For further information about the Nuffield Foundation, go to http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/
For a direct link to their work on law, go to http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/law-society

To hear my interview with Sharon Witherspoon go to http://fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/orc/resources/law/els/partington13_14/student/podcasts/Witherspoon.mp3