Exploring the Overlap Between Procedural-Justice Principles and Emotion Regulation in the Courtroom

Extensive research shows that adherence to procedural-justice principles by law-enforcement officers and judges leads to greater compliance with orders, a greater sense of the legitimacy, and greater overall satisfaction. The main principles leading to positive views of procedural justice in this research are voice (allowing participants to be heard), neutrality (applying neutral rules transparently), respect (treating participants with dignity while respecting their rights), and trustworthiness (appearing sincere and caring). Separate research on emotion regulation suggests ways in which judges may successfully regulate their own emotions and those of other courtroom participants. Several threads in these separate fields suggest potential overlap and areas for further research. There are many ways in which good procedural-justice practices are also recommended practices for emotion regulation. Scholars in the emerging emotion-regulation field could gain greater awareness of their work by exploring ties to procedural justice, which is more often being included in judicial education.