Dice—Literature and a visceral response to the Law
Imagine being called to serve on a jury panel for a sexual violence case: most of us might believe that we are capable of impartiality and that our participation will deliver justice. So why is it so difficult for victims of sexual violence to feel seen, heard, or vindicated?
Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture—Faculty of Law alumna Dr Claire Baylis’ new novel Dice launched last week, and if reviewers are to be believed, it has the potential to become a very important New Zealand book—perhaps even essential reading for training lawyers.
Dice is the story of a jury trial—following the case of four teenage boys accused of committing serious sexual offences—told through the eyes of twelve jurors. It explores societal attitudes towards sexual violence, social media misuse, consent, and opens a window into jury dynamics. The reader is immersed in each juror’s life as they navigate the evidence, the competing narratives of the defence and the prosecution, and their own values to reach a verdict ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
Dice is entirely a work of fiction, but its forensic precision in the workings of the law and jury trials is deeply rooted in years of research and academia. Dr Baylis studied her LLB(Hons) and her LLM at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington from the mid 80’s. She became a lecturer, then a senior lecturer in 1997 as well as Deputy Director of the Centre for Dispute Resolution until 2002.
“I loved teaching, especially at first year and Masters level,” she says. Dr Baylis received an Excellence in Teaching award from Victoria University in 2000.
A move to Rotorua thereafter saw her take a break from teaching, but her ties to the University were never far away. She was invited to join a team of Trans-Tasman researchers, co-headed in New Zealand by Professor Yvette Tinsley, a criminal law professor at the Faculty of Law, and Dr Warren Young QSO, as an interviewer and research assistant. The objective of this ground-breaking study was to examine the deliberation processes of jurors and particularly their understanding and application of judicial instructions.
Her achievements are no mean feat given that Dr Baylis did all this while raising three children and pursuing her love of writing fiction. By 2017, having already published short stories in literary journals and on Radio NZ, she enrolled in the University’s Institute of Modern Letters PhD programme in creative writing, and was on her way to giving shape—and substance—to Dice.
For the non-fiction part of her PhD, Dr Baylis, supervised by Professor Tinsley and with ethical approval, undertook a secondary analysis of some of the New Zealand sexual violence cases from the jury study. Having completed her doctorate, Dr Baylis, Professor Tinsley, and Dr Young broadened this analysis to look at all 18 sexual violence trials in the study and found that some jurors brought with them a host of value judgements, attitudes, and cultural misconceptions to the deliberation. This research helped to inform Dice.
A key approach for Dr Baylis, when writing her novel, was to insert readers into the juror’s lives so as to ‘walk a mile in their shoes’. In doing so, Dr Baylis taps into the power of literature to create a visceral response in the reader and bring about a deep understanding in a way that no court transcript or academic article can achieve.
“Jury trials, for me, are not the right forum for sexual violence cases,” says Dr Baylis, “I think that ultimately we need to be looking at alternative approaches . I was keen to explore how art can challenge people’s assumptions about what constitutes sexual violence and also bring to light the problems with the court process and the difficulties juries have with these cases."
She gives the example of the play ‘Prima Facie’, which has deeply affected the legal profession, and which now partners with a leading school consent charity to educate children about consent across the United Kingdom.
Dr Baylis took part in a panel discussion, hosted by the Centre for Justice Innovation, this month. The topic, ‘Innovative justice responses to sexual offending’, drew on the findings and experience of leading researchers in innovative approaches to sexual violence reform.
Dr Baylis discussed the role of fiction in supporting public education about the way sexual offending trials work and the problems with using a jury. “I wanted to explore what writers and other creatives can do in raising awareness and supporting societal change, as well as reform of approaches to addressing sexual harm,” she said.
'Dice' is published by Allen & Unwin, and available in bookstores and online.
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