Criminal Justice in the Harry Potter Series

This paper will analyze the ways in which J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series critiques the criminal justice system within the novel (as a reflection of the system in Britain) as well as how this series contributes to the literary tradition of prose exerting pressure on criminal justice institutions. The justice system in the Harry Potter series reflects the system and its challenges in Britain between the 1970s and the early 2000s. These challenges include balancing public pressure to solve cases with the duty to fully investigate, balancing crime crackdowns with human rights, and the courts gaining power in regards to interpreting laws. This paper will explore the multiple examples of the judicial process in the series as well as the series’ motif of innocent people convicted and serving time in prison. The popularity of the Harry Potter series and its addressing of such issues is working to encourage social change and to bring awareness to the public about the problems of fear driven legislation and political action