Dr Roxanna Dehaghani

Darllenydd yn y Gyfraith

: Fatemi-DehaghaniR@caerdydd.ac.uk
: +44 29208 75447

: Sylwebydd y cyfryngau
: Ar gael fel goruchwyliwr ôl-raddedig

I joined Cardiff Law in September 2017. I have expertise on the vulnerable accused, specifically vulnerable suspects and the appropriate adult safeguard, and criminal legal aid/defence. I also have expertise on Fineman’s vulnerability theory and socio-legal research methods. I am currently External Examiner at York Law School and Editorial Board Member of the Howard Journal of Crime and Justice and the Journal of Adult Protection. I am also a Member of the Board of Governors and Resources Committee for Coleg y Cymoedd (a further education college in Wales).

I have been a Visiting Scholar/Fellow at Emory (USA), KU-Leuven (Belgium), and Queen’s University, Belfast (Northern Ireland) and I am a Global Affiliate of the Vulnerability and Human Condition Initiative at Emory University (since 2018).

My research concerns how law, policy and practice can create, exacerbate, and respond to the vulnerable position of the accused. I have authored or co-authored over two dozen articles and book chapters, including in leading generalist journals such as Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Legal Studies, and Modern Law Review and in leading specialist journals such as the International Journal of the Legal Profession, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, and the Criminal Law Review. My first book – Vulnerability in Police Custody – was published by Routledge in 2019 and second book – Experiences of Criminal Justice (with D. Newman) – was published by Bristol University Press in 2022. I am currently working with S. Fairclough and L. Mergaerts on an edited book -Vulnerability, the Accused, and the Criminal Justice System - with Routledge and with P. Tomczak (PI) on the regulation of criminal justice detention funded by the European Research Council.

I maintain a strong interest in law and justice in Wales and safeguarding practices, and have worked with colleagues in Social Sciences on safeguarding reviews (funded by the National Independent Safeguarding Board), including an award-winning article on adult death reviews.

My research is policy- and practice-oriented and has resulted in legislative and practice change. I was a member of the Home Office Working Group on Vulnerable Adults (2016-17) and my research resulted in significant changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Code of Practice C. I am the sole-author of the Evidence Base for the National Appropriate Adult Network's revised National Standards (2018) and my research resulted in new and updated standards, used across England and Wales. This impactful work was submitted to the REF2021 as an Impact Case Study. I continue to work closely with NAAN to improve law, policy, and practice as it relates to vulnerable suspects. I have also worked for/collaborated with the Independent Custody Visiting Association, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I am Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Vulnerability Research Network (2019-) and the founder of ‘The Vulnerable Accused’ work-in-progress sessions.

I was previously a Board Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (2018-21), Organising Committee Member of the Cardiff 2021 Socio-Legal Studies Association conference (2019-21), Co-Convenor of the British Society of Criminology Wales Branch (2019-21), Co-organiser of Mental Diversity Law Network's Criminal Law/Justice events (funded by the Wellcome Trust) (2020-22), Deputy Director for the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice (2020/21), and Chair of Research Ethics (2019-22).

I regularly review for leading specialist and generalist journals and publishers such as Modern Law Review, International Journal of Law in Context, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, and Routledge.

Alongside my research, I teach Miscarriages of Justice and teach and lead on Criminal Law. I supervise research at UG, PGT, and PGR levels and regularly provide training on research methods and research ethics to PGRs. I currently supervise two PGRs - Riedel (Vulnerability to Radicalisation under the PREVENT strategy) and O'Shea (defining sex work in law). If you are a passionate, determined, and intellectually curious individual who wishes to pursue a PhD in any of my areas of expertise, please get in touch.

I tweet (@roxanna_law) fairly sporadically on problems facing the criminal justice system and on the problems facing academia.

Date
Type

2024

Dehaghani, R. 2024. Vulnerability in police custody. In: Daly, Y. ed. Police Custody in Ireland. Routledge

2023

Newman, D. and Dehaghani, R. 2023. Court closures: Experiences from Wales. Amicus Curiae 5(1), pp. 1-24.
Dehaghani, R., Fairclough, S. and Mergaerts, L. eds. 2023. Vulnerability, the accused, and the criminal justice system: Multi-jurisdictional perspectives. London: Routledge.
Fairclough, S., Mergaerts, L. and Dehaghani, R. 2023. Introduction: The vulnerable accused in the criminal justice system. In: Dehaghani, R., Fairclough, S. and Mergaerts, L. eds. Vulnerability, the Accused, and the Criminal Justice System: Multi-jurisdictional Perspectives. Routledge, pp. 1-18.
Mergaerts, L., Dehaghani, R. and Fairclough, S. 2023. Conclusion: challenges and future avenues to adequately protect the vulnerable accused. In: Dehaghani, R., Fairclough, S. and Mergaerts, L. eds. Vulnerability, the Accused, and the Criminal Justice System: Multi-jurisdictional Perspectives. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 206-211.
Dehaghani, R., Helm, R. K. and Newman, D. 2023. The vulnerable accused and the limits of Legal Aid. In: Dehaghani, R., Fairclough, S. and Mergaerts, L. eds. Vulnerability, the Accused, and the Criminal Justice System: Multi-jurisdictional Perspectives. Routledge Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice and Procedure Routledge, pp. 192-205.
Dehaghani, R. and Newman, D. 2023. The dichotomy of “first timer” and “regular” and its implications for legal advice and assistance. International Journal of the Legal Profession 3(1), pp. 59-80. (10.1080/09695958.2022.2129661)
Dehaghani, R., Smith, T. and Newman, D. 2023. Suspects still left in limbo? The continuing challenge of pre-charge bail. Criminal Law Review 8, pp. 492-511.

2022

Dehaghani, R. 2022. Interpreting and reframing the appropriate adult safeguard. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 42(1), pp. 187-206. (10.1093/ojls/gqab029)
Dehaghani, R. and Newman, D. 2022. Criminal legal aid and access to justice: an empirical account of a reduction in resilience. International Journal of the Legal Profession 29(1), pp. 33-52. (10.1080/09695958.2020.1868474)
Carline, A. and Dehaghani, R. 2022. Domestic violence and abuse. In: Lamont, R. ed. Family Law. Oxford University Press
Helm, R., Dehaghani, R. and Newman, D. 2022. Guilty plea decisions: moving beyond the autonomy myth. Modern Law Review 85(1), pp. 133-163. (10.1111/1468-2230.12676)
Newman, D. and Dehaghani, R. 2022. Experiences of criminal justice: perspectives from Wales on a system in crisis. Bristol University Press.

I am incredibly grateful for financial support for my research and impact and engagement activities from British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council, the European Research Council, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the National Independent Safeguarding Board. These various bodies have funded my work on procedural safeguards for the accused, particularly my work on appropriate adults, criminal justice detention, and criminal justice in Wales.

My work is socio-legal and (somewhat) interdisciplinary in nature; I am a qualitative researcher by background (but use quantitative methods where necessary). For my doctoral studies, I conducted an ethnography in police custody (detention), examining the myriad barriers to the implementation of the appropriate adult safeguard. This culminated in my first monograph (deemed a 'major contribution to the field' by Prof Emeritus Gisli Gudjonsson CBE) and a sole-authored Impact Case Study for REF2021. I have written on topics such as the vulnerability of suspects, the appropriate adult safeguard, criminal defence, criminal legal aid, experiences of criminal justice in crisis in (England and) Wales, and guilty plea decision-making. The backdrop of austerity and neo-liberalism also represent major themes in my research, as does the call for a responsive state (drawing upon Fineman's vulnerability theory). My particular interest is in how rules are interpreted, implemented, and/or ignored, and what this means for the criminal accused. I am also interested the factors influencing criminal justice decision-making and experiences (policy-makers, practitioners, and those with lived experience). A number of these issues emerge in my forthcoming monograph on criminal justice in Wales. Whilst I am a legal academic, I am interested in and have studied legal psychology. sociology, and criminology, and I draw on concepts and frameworks from those disciplines in my work. Being an academic magpie of sorts, I am also interested in disability studies (as it interacts with criminal justice), youth justice, and the interaction (or lack thereof) between different areas of the law (family, social care, mental health and capacity, criminal, immigration, etc). My expertise relates to the vulnerable accused, specifically vulnerable suspects, police custody, the appropriate adult safeguard, criminal legal aid/defence.

Addysg

2014-18 - Ph.D. yn y Gyfraith - Ysgol y Gyfraith Caerlŷr, Prifysgol Caerlŷr
2011-12 - L.L.M., FFORENSIG, TROSEDDEG A GWEINYDDU CYFIAWNDER, CUM LAUDE - Cyfadran y Gyfraith, Prifysgol Maastricht
2007-10 - L.L.B. (Hons.), Y Gyfraith, Ail Ddosbarth, Adran Gyntaf - Ysgol y Gyfraith, Prifysgol y Frenhines Belffast

Anrhydeddau a dyfarniadau

European Research Council - RECEDE: Regulating Criminal Justice Detention (with Tomczak PI) - (€1.3 million) (2022-)
National Independent Safeguarding Board Wales - Thematic Review of Adult Practice Reviews - (with Rees PI, Swann, and Slater) (£24,991) (2020-21)
Equality and Human Rights Commission – ‘Conditions of Detention in Wales’ (with Jones and Series) (£1500) (2019-20)
Economic and Social Research Council (Impact Acceleration Account) – Training Independent Custody Visitors (PI) (£4000) (2019-21)
National Independent Safeguarding Board - Thematic Review of Child Practice Reviews - Wales (with Rees PI, Swann, Slater, and Robinson) (£26,000) (2019-20)
British Academy – Suspect and Defendant Experiences of the Criminal Process (PI, with Newman) (£8543) (2018-20)
Cardiff University Research Opportunities Placement (CUROP) - The experiences of the suspect and defendant in the criminal process (with Newman PI) (£2100) (2018-19)
National Independent Safeguarding Board - Thematic Review of Domestic Homicide, Mental Health Homicide, and Adult Practice Reviews (with Robinson PI and Rees) (£20,000) (2018-19)
University of Leicester- REF-Research Impact Development Fund (£3623.60) (2016-17)

University of Leicester - Graduate Teaching Assistantship (Fully funded PhD) – (£57,204) (2014-18)
Postgraduate Bursaries – British Society of Criminology 2016; 10th North-South Irish Criminology Conference 2016; Socio-Legal Studies Association 2016
Postgraduate Development Fund – College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, University of Leicester, 2016 (£500); College of Arts, Humanities and Law, University of Leicester, 2016 (£500)
Top 3% Scholarship – Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, 2012 (Full tuition fee for L.L.M.)

Aelodaethau proffesiynol

Editorial Board Member - Howard Journal of Crime and Justice (05/2021-)
Editorial Board Member - Journal of Adult Protection (09/2021-)
Founder and Organiser - Work in Progress - The Vulnerable Accused (05/2020-)
Global Affiliate - Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative (06/2018-)
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2017-)
Co-Chair and Founder - Vulnerability Research Network, British Society of Criminology (12/2019-)
Co-Convenor - Wales Branch, British Society of Criminology (02/2019-09/2021)
Board Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association (04/2018-04/2021)
Publisher Liaison - SLSA (05/2019-04/2021)
Seminar Committee Member - SLSA (05/2019-04/2021)
Ethics Working Group Member and Chair - SLSA (05/2019-04/2021)
National Appropriate Adult Network – Academic Lead on National Standards (05/2017-03/2018)
Home Office Working Group on Vulnerable Adults (11/2016-11/2017)
British Society of Criminology Postgraduate Committee – Events Manager (07/2016-07/2017)

Member of Criminal Justice Research Centre (Nottingham)
Member of the British Society of Criminology
Member of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association
Member of the Early Career Academic Network – Howard League for Penal Reform

Safleoedd academaidd blaenorol

2017-20 - Darlithydd yn y Gyfraith - Prifysgol Caerdydd
2019 - Ysgolhaig Ymweld - KU-Leuven
2018 - Ysgolhaig Ymweld - Bregusrwydd a'r Fenter Cyflwr Dynol, Prifysgol Emory
2016-17 - Darlithydd yn y Gyfraith - Prifysgol Caerlŷr
2014-16 - Cynorthwy-ydd Addysgu i Raddedigion - Prifysgol Caerlŷr
2016 - Ysgolhaig Gwadd - Prifysgol Queen's Belfast
2015-16 - Cydymaith Addysgu - Prifysgol Birmingham

Pwyllgorau ac adolygu

Research Advisory Group: The Impact of PACE on Young Suspects (funded by Nuffield Foundation) (2020-) (PI: Dr Vicky Kemp); Young Suspects and Policing (funded by Policing Authority Ireland) (2019-21) (PI: Prof Ursula Kilkelly, UCC)

Article reviewer: Modern Law Review (2021); International Journal of Law in Context (2021); Howard Journal of Crime and Justice (2021); European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (2021); European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (2020), Oñati Socio-Legal Series (2020); Journal of Law and Society (2020); Howard Journal of Crime and Justice (2018; 2020 - three times); Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (2019)
Textbook reviewer: Oxford University Press (2018; 2020)
Monograph reviewer: Palgrave Macmillan (2020 - twice); Policy Press (2017; 2020 - twice); Routledge (2020 - three times)
Grant reviewer: Independent Social Research Foundation (2020); Economic and Social Research Council - Research Centre and Standard;
Seminar grants reviewer: SLSA (2020-21)

Mae gen i ddiddordeb mewn goruchwylio myfyrwyr PhD ym meysydd:

Iechyd meddwl, anabledd a bregusrwydd yn y broses droseddol
(Rhwystrau i) cyfranogiad y cyhuddedig yn y broses droseddol
Theori bregusrwydd
Hawliau dan amheuaeth/diffynnydd a mesurau diogelu gweithdrefnol, megis, ond heb fod yn gyfyngedig i, yr hawl i gyngor a chynrychiolaeth gyfreithiol a'r hawl i dawelu
Cyni, neoryddfrydiaeth, rheolaethiaeth, gwarannau a risg yn y broses droseddol

Goruchwyliaeth gyfredol

Chloe MacDonald

Myfyriwr ymchwil

Themâu ymchwil

Arbenigeddau

Trosedd a chyfiawnder cymdeithasol
Polisi trosedd
Gweithdrefn droseddol
Pobl sydd ag anabledd
Mynediad i gyfiawnder

Ymchwil yn dangos nad yw oedolion agored i niwed yn nalfa'r heddlu yn cael cefnogaeth hanfodol

12 October 2020

Diffyg cymorth ar gyfer oedolion sy’n agored i niwed yn nalfa’r heddlu

02 June 2019

External profiles

ORCID

Dr Roxanna Dehaghani

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2022

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