Abstract
How are old people treated in courts? How do judges construct old age? To what extent judicial decisions regarding older persons reflect ageist attitudes? Historically, these questions have received relatively little attention in gerontological literature. This Israeli case-study tries to add a new dimension to the growing literature in the field of jurisprudential gerontology, in a context that so far received little attention: narrative justice. More specifically, this study combines a narrative-justice theoretical approach, with a legal case-study methodology, in order to explore the relationships between judicial narratives and ageism. The narrative analysis presented in this case study exposes how in contrast to common perception, which views legal decisions as objective and unimaginative texts, reality is different. The judicial case studied in this article exemplify how in real life, judges often construct a socio-judicial narrative, embellished by personal bias and prejudices regarding old age.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbaum, W. A. (1995). Crossing frontiers: Gerontology emerges as a science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Almong, S. (2001). As I read, I weep: in praise of judicial narrative. Oklahoma City University Law Review, 26, 471–501.
Ben-Israel, R., & Ben-Israel, G. (2004). Who is affraid of the third age? Tel-Aviv: Am-Oved [Hebrew].
Bruce, E. A. (2001). Integrating case law into social gerontology course work. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 21(4), 29–42.
Bytheway, B. (1995). Ageism. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Bytheway, B. (2005). Ageism and age categorisation. Journal of Social Issues, 61(2), 362–374.
Cohen, E. S. (1978). Editorial: law and aging, lawyers and gerontologist. The Gerontologist, 18(3), 229.
Doron, I. (2004). Ageing in the shadow of law: elder guardianship in Israel. Journal of Ageing and Social Policy, 16(4), 59–77.
Doron, I. (2007). Law, justice and old age. Jerusalem: Eshel [Hebrew].
Doron, I. (Ed.). (2008a). Theories on law and ageing. Berlin: Springer.
Doron, I. (2008b). Ageing and anti-ageing in Israel’s supreme court rulings. The Law, 25, 25–37 [Hebrew].
Doron, I., & Hoffman, A. (2005). Time for law: legal literacy and gerontological education. Journal of Gerontological Education, 31(8), 627–42.
Eglit, H. (2004). Elders on trial: Age and ageism in the american legal system. Gainsville: University Press of Florida.
Frolik, L. A. (1993). The developing field of elder law: a historical perspective. The Elder Law Journal, 1, 1–10.
Hammersley, M. (2004). Case study. In S. Becker & A. Bryman (Eds.), Understanding research for social policy and practice (pp. 254–257). Bristol: Policy.
Iversen, T. N., Larsen, L., & Solem, P. E. (2009). A conceptual analysis of ageism. Nordic Psychology, 61(3), 4–22.
Kapp, M. B. (2003). The law and older persons. NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Love, J. C. (1998). The value of narrative in legal scholarship and teaching. The Journal of Race, Gender and Justice, 2, 87–97.
Martinez. (1999). Philosophical considerations and the use of narrative in law. Rutgers Law Journal, 30, 683–706.
McDonald, A., & Taylor, M. (2006). Older people and the law. Bristol: Policy.
Palmore, E. B. (1999). Ageism: Negative and positive. New York: Springer.
Sarat, A., & Kearns, T. R. (1994). Introduction. In A. Sarat & T. R. Kearns (Eds.), The rhetoric of law (pp. 1–28). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Soden, A. (2005). Advising the older client. Markham: LexisNexis Canada.
Steffensmeier, D., & Motivans, M. (2000). Older men and older women in the arms of criminal law: offending patterns and sentencing outcomes. Journal of Gerontology: Series B, 55B, S141.
Weisberg, R. H. (1982). How judges speak: some lessons on adjudication in Billy Budd, sailor with an application to justice rehnquist. New York University Law Review, 57(1), 1–69.
West, R. (1985). Jurisprudence as narrative: an aesthetic analysis of modern legal theory. New York University Law Review, 60(2), 145–211.
Whitton, L. S. (1997). Ageism: paternalism & prejudice. DePaul Law Review, 46, 453.
Yuval, J. (2002). Narrative justice. Iuney Mishpat, 18, 1–42 [Hebrew].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Doron, I. A Judicial Rashomon: On Ageism and Narrative Justice. J Cross Cult Gerontol 27, 17–28 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-012-9160-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-012-9160-7