Moral, Recht und Reputation

To be implicated in a court hearing generates maximum public interest and also maximises reputation risks. This paper looks at the specific logic of the reputation constitution that comes into effect in connection with a court hearing. It will be shown that the reputation dynamics in such situations are strongly characterised by the factors of ‘moralization’ and ‘intimization’. Court hearings are always concerned with particularly serious cases of moral misconduct and provide intimate insights into the backgrounds and mindsets of the accused. The paper discusses the consequences of this fact for the reputation management of the accused, and of the legal disputes between those concerned.