Requirements for the defendant to actively participate in the English criminal process have been increasing in recent years such that the defendant can now be penalised for their non-cooperation. This book explores the changes to the defendant’s role as a participant in the criminal process and the ramifications of penalising a defendant’s non-cooperation, particularly its effect on the adversarial system. The book develops a normative theory which proposes that the criminal process should operate as a mechanism for calling the state to account for its accusations and request for official condemnation and punishment of the accused. It goes on to examine the limitations placed on the privilege against self-incrimination, the curtailment of the right to silence, and the defendant’s duty to disclose the details of his or her case prior to trial. The book shows that, by placing participatory requirements on defendants and penalising them for their non-cooperation, a system of obligatory participation has developed. This development is the consequence of pursuing efficient fact-finding with little regard for principles of fairness or the rights of the defendant.

In recent years the English criminal justice system has been shaken by certain notorious cases such as the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six, and the Cardiff Three. The quashing of convictions in these and other cases has brought to public notice the structural deficiencies which exist in the criminal justice system. In this book Professor Ashworth addresses one of the most controversial areas of the entire criminal process: the pre-trial stage. Taking as his starting point the detention of suspects in police custody, the author examines six key issues in the pre-trial process: the questioning of suspects, cautioning of offenders, prosecutorial review, remand decisions, mode of trial decisions, and plea bargaining. Drawing upon empirical research, substantive law, and official guidance, the author considers how the rights of victims and defendants are promoted within the system, and in particular considers the potential impact of the European Convention of Human Rights on the administration of criminal justice in England and Wales. The recommendations of the 1993 Royal Commission on Criminal Justice are critically appraised.

The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Process surveys the topics and issues in the field of criminal process, including the laws, institutions, and practices of the criminal justice administration. The process begins with arrests or with crime investigation such as searches for evidence. It continues through trial or some alternative form of adjudication such as plea bargaining that may lead to conviction and punishment, and it includes post-conviction events such as appeals and various procedures for addressing miscarriages of justice. Across more than 40 chapters, this Handbook provides a descriptive overview of the subject sufficient to serve as a durable reference source, and more importantly to offer contemporary critical or analytical perspectives on those subjects by leading scholars in the field. Topics covered include history, procedure, investigation, prosecution, evidence, adjudication, and appeal.

Criminal justice is unavoidably human. Detectives, witnesses, suspects, and victims shape investigations; prosecutors, defense attorneys, jurors, and judges affect the outcome of adjudication. Simon shows how flawed investigations produce erroneous evidence and why well-meaning juries send innocent people to prison and set the guilty free.

Examines the causes for mass incarceration of Americans and calls for the reform of the bail system. Traces the history of bail, how it has come to be an oppressive tool of the courts, and makes recommendations for reforming the bail system and alleviating the mass incarceration problem.

Providing a complete view of U.S. legal principles, this book addresses distinct issues as well as the overlays and connections between them. It presents as a cohesive whole the interrelationships between constitutional principles, statutory criminal laws, procedural law, and common-law evidentiary doctrines. This fully revised and updated new edition also includes discussion questions and hypothetical scenarios to check learning. Constitutional principles are the foundation upon which substantive criminal law, criminal procedure law, and evidence laws rely. The concepts of due process, legality, specificity, notice, equality, and fairness are intrinsic to these three disciplines, and a firm understanding of their implications is necessary for a thorough comprehension of the topic. This book examines the tensions produced by balancing the ideals of individual liberty embodied in the Constitution against society’s need to enforce criminal laws as a means of achieving social control, order, and safety. Relying on his first-hand experience as a law enforcement official and criminal defense attorney, the author presents issues that highlight the difficulties in applying constitutional principles to specific criminal justice situations. Each chapter of the text contains a realistic problem in the form of a fact pattern that focuses on one or more classic criminal justice issues to which readers can relate. These problems are presented from the points of view of citizens caught up in a police investigation and of police officers attempting to enforce the law within the framework of constitutional protections. This book is ideal for courses in criminal law and procedure that seek to focus on the philosophical underpinnings of the system.

Highlighting key issues in Criminal Justice that students need to consider, the Fifth Edition of this popular text contains a wide and varied selection of materials which help to explain the evolution of the criminal justice process in England and Wales since the early 1990s. Statutes, case law, empirical research and official and unofficial reports, as well as theoretical perspectives and academic comment are woven together and contextualized by the accompanying narrative to provide an authoritative account of the recent development of the criminal justice system. Fully updated, this Fifth Edition explores the issues around: • the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners; • the contracting out of probation services; • the significant reforms to legal aid funding; • the challenges to trial by jury posed by the internet. This book also helpfully directs students to further reading by chapter to provide next steps for research. Written in an accessible style, Text and Materials on the Criminal Justice Process is a valuable resource for students of criminal justice.