Spatial Tactics in Criminal Courts and the Politics of Legal Technicalities

Antipode - A Journal of Radical Geography, 2015 vol. 47(5): 1346-1366

23 Pages Posted: 24 Jun 2018

See all articles by Marie-Eve Sylvestre

Marie-Eve Sylvestre

University of Ottawa - Civil Law Section

William Damon

Simon Fraser University (SFU)

Nicholas Blomley

Simon Fraser University (SFU) - Department of Geography

Céline Bellot

University of Montreal

Date Written: June 11, 2015

Abstract

This paper documents court-imposed bail and sentencing conditions with spatial dimensions, such as red zones, no contact conditions, curfews and prohibitions to demonstrate, issued in the context of criminal proceedings. These conditional orders, which are growing in importance and have a significant impact on the lives of marginalized groups of people, have not received the attention they deserve in the literature. As opposed to better publicized forms of spatial regulation such as legislation or policing strategies, these conditional orders are a distinctive form of spatial tactic that rely on ancient and routinized rules of criminal procedure and the practices of the courts. In order to understand this spatial tactic, and its impact on marginalized people’s rights and uses of spaces, we argue that it is necessary to pay attention to the legal rationalities, knowledge and practices that sustain them.

Keywords: Court-Imposed Spatial Tactics; Public Spaces; Conditions of Release; Legal Technicalities; Bail; Probation

Suggested Citation

Sylvestre, Marie-Eve and Damon, William and Blomley, Nicholas and Bellot, Céline, Spatial Tactics in Criminal Courts and the Politics of Legal Technicalities (June 11, 2015). Antipode - A Journal of Radical Geography, 2015 vol. 47(5): 1346-1366, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3194001

Marie-Eve Sylvestre (Contact Author)

University of Ottawa - Civil Law Section ( email )

57 Louis Pasteur Dr
Ottawa
Canada

William Damon

Simon Fraser University (SFU)

8888 University Drive
Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6
Canada

Nicholas Blomley

Simon Fraser University (SFU) - Department of Geography ( email )

Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6
Canada

Céline Bellot

University of Montreal ( email )

C.P. 6128 succursale Centre-ville
Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7
Canada

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