02238     2200229   4500001000700000100004100007101000800048102000700056200008800063210006700151215001800218328011900236330151000355606002201865606002301887606002101910606002501931675001001956700001801966801001201984852001201996408923  a20241016d        kkky0pory50      ba  aeng  aGB  aExamining the role of the intermediary in the criminal justice systemfJohn Taggart  aLondoncLondon School of Economics and Political Scienced2022  a263 p.d30 cm  athesis submitted to the Department of Law of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy  aIntermediaries were first introduced by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999) to facilitate communication between individuals with communication needs and the criminal justice system. Yet, despite increased academic attention into this new criminal justice actor, the content of the role remains unclear. This thesis undertakes a sociolegal examination of the intermediary role within the criminal justice system. It examines how those executing the role understand its work and how other criminal justice actors perceive it. To do so, the thesis incorporates empirical data gathered through a series of semi-structured interviews with intermediaries and police officers in England and Wales and intermediaries and judges in Northern Ireland. It uses a grounded theory methodology to generate a theory of the intermediary role and its scope and content. I identify three key themes from the data which are integral to how we can conceptualise the intermediary role and its work: i) the role’s professional status, ii) the role’s commitment to neutrality and, iii) the relationship between the role and the criminal justice value of participation. I argue that recognition of differences between intermediary work with witnesses on one hand and defendants on the other is crucial to understanding the nature of the role more broadly. Finally, I make several recommendations regarding the future of the intermediary role and how it can be better integrated into the criminal justice system.  aJUSTIÇA JUVENIL  aJUSTIÇA CRIMINAL  aSISTEMA CRIMINAL  aTESE DE DOUTORAMENTO  a343.2  aTAGGARTbJohn  aPTgRPC  jEST1265