DOCSLIB.ORG

MISCARRIAGES of JUSTICE: the Uncertainty Principle

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE: The Uncertainty Principle Dennis Eady This thesis is submitted in candidature for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social Sciences Cardiff University July 2009 UMI Number: U585226 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U585226 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ......................(Candidate) Date. / - J / V / ^ 9 STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Signed .....................(Candidate) Date ..... STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. Signed ......................... (Candidate) Date... STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ................................(Candidate) Date ...... ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My appreciation is extended to the following people: - ■ My supervisors Professor Mike Maguire and Dr Lesley Noaks who promoted the academic freedom to develop this project combined with encouragement, interest and wise, helpful advice at the right times. ■ Liz Renton for her good humoured and reliable guidance through the administrative maze. ■ All the participants who gave their time and personal experiences to provide insights and information for this research. ■ All at “Press”, in particular Steve, Kathy and Leanne for taking all the pressure and giving me space, support and refreshments to undertake this project. ■ Paul Sweeney for his support, ideas and for proof reading the document. ■ Angela for her encouragement, passion for justice and inspirational ideas. ■ Christiane for being always around and ever interested despite the distances. ■ Mike Slevin for his support and humour and for keeping the wheels of industry turning to help pay for academic indulgencies. ■ Julie Price and Mike Naughton for providing valuable links with the Innocence Network and help with contacts. ■ Liz and Colin Green for their interest and help with contacts. ■ My Mother and late Father for their unquestioning love, support and belief and for their immaculate example of humanity. ABSTRACT The thesis examines in detail the potential for error and distortion in the criminal justice process and the concept of case construction which may contribute to wrongful convictions. The effectiveness of post conviction procedures is then also considered. Three detailed case studies are utilised to illustrate case construction, post conviction issues and current social/cultural factors that may impact on miscarriages of justice. The thesis argues that the “Uncertainty Principle” permeates the criminal justice process such that wrongful convictions are an inevitable risk and moreover that, while there are certain safeguards that protect from some of the problems of the past, there remains a high potential for such events to occur. This potential is exacerbated by the current political “convictionist” rhetoric and policy framework and by trends and developments in the media world and the consequent social influence of this. Further concerns are expressed at the continuing reluctance of post conviction agencies, most notably the Court of Appeal, to fully recognise the risks inherent in the system. Consequently post-conviction procedures continue to function on the principle of finality within the system and prioritise the protection of the decisions of the lower courts. It is argued that the principle should not be finality but uncertainty and that the protection of the innocent rather than the protection of the image of the system should be the paramount concern. The thesis considers the often illusory nature of some of the principles of the criminal justice system and utilises notions of “magical legalism” (Cohen 2001) and other psychological processes that may be involved in maintaining the illusions. Some recommendations for change are proposed, focusing primarily on the philosophical change that is required to change the principles originally designed to protect the innocent from illusion into reality. CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Contents iii List of Tables and Charts and List of Appendices viii List of Abbreviations ix INTRODUCTION 1 - Overall Aim of the Research 2 - Structure of the Thesis 5 PARTI THE RISK OF WRONGFUL CONVICTION 9 Chapter 1 Defining and Quantifying Miscarriages of Justice 10 - The Problem of Definition 10 - The Problem of Measuring the Incidence of Miscarriages of 12 Justice Chapter 2 The Criminal Justice System and the Potential for Error 19 - Introduction 19 - The Police and Investigative Context: - 24 > Police Culture and Experience 24 > Confessions and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 26 > The Complexity o f Major Crime Investigation 30 > External and Internal Pressure 32 > Policing Styles and the Merging of Moral Boundaries 33 > Conclusion 38 - The Evidential Context: - 39 > The Evidence o f People 39 > Physical and Scientific Evidence 43 > Conclusion 50 - The Legal and Adversarial Context: - 51 > Adversarial ism 51 > Witnesses and Demeanour 55 > Judges, Juries and the Rules o f Evidence 57 > Conclusion 63 iii PART 2 METHODOLOGY and OUALITATITIVE ISSUES 66 Chapter 3 Justifying the Research Position 67 - The Rationale for the Study 67 - The Objectivity/Subjectivity Debate 70 Chapter 4 Methodological Issues 75 - The Professional Participants and the Eleven Case Studies: - 75 > The Professional Participants 76 > Case Studies 79 > Validity and Reliability 84 - Methods used: - 85 > The Semi-Structured Interview 85 > Use o f Documents and Broadcasts 89 > Court Observation 89 > On-going Voluntary Work 90 > Dissemination 90 - Ethics 90 PART 3 CASE CONSTRUCTION 93 Introduction 94 Chapter 5 The Llanharry Murder Mystery:Case Study Jonathan Jones 99 - The Close Perpetrator Assumption 100 - The 4 Agatha Christie’ Syndrome 101 - The Case Construction: A Sample from the‘Shoal of Red 102 Herrings’ > Financial and Jealousy Motives 102 > Taking an Extra Hour to Travel back to Wales 103 > Creating the Hour and a'Lie'in Witness Statements 104 > The Thumb Print on the Saucer and the Changing 105 Police Statements > The Trench Coat: the Prize Red Herring 107 > Fudging the Alibi 109 > Assorted Other Red Herrings 110 > The Existence o f Other leads 112 - The Judicial Responses 113 > The Trial Judge 113 > The Court o f Appeal 113 iv Corruption and the Merging of Moral Boundaries 116 ‘The Cardiff Newsagent Three’ 116 - Other Examples in this Study 122 Informers 125 Conclusion 130 Misleading Information and Human Error 131 - Problems with Witnesses 131 - The Problem of Disclosure 136 > Disclosure Rules 137 > Professional Views on Disclosure 139 - Problems with Science 142 > The Susan May Case: Collusion and Confusion 144 y Professional Views on Science Issues 146 - Conclusion 147 Assumptions, Interpretations and Selectivity 149 - The ‘Close Perpetrator5 and the ‘Agatha Christie Syndrome5 149 - Reversing the Positive: Re-constructing Identity 153 - Losing Control in the Face of Case Construction 157 - Case Construction and Co-incidence 161 - Selectivity 165 - Conclusion 167 Summary Conclusion of Part 3 168 POST CONVICTION PROCEDURES 170 The Court of Appeal and the Criminal Cases Review Commission 171 (CCRC) - The Court of Appeal 172 ‘Quashing Convictions’ - The Dangers of Current Thinking 185 - The Criminal Cases Review Commission: Role and Context 188 Ten Long Years at the CCRC: Case Study John Roden and Mike 196 Attwooll - Outline of the Case 196 > Timings and Sightings 197 > Blood Traces in Mike Attwooll5s Car 198 > The Gun and the Evidence of Vincent Price and Carl 199 Perkins > The Evidence of David Eaves 201 v - Chronological Outline of CCRC Involvement 202 - Analysis of the CCRC Involvement 204 > Transparency (Openness) and Accountability 204 > Thorough and Investigative (Integrity and 206 Professionalism) > Independence and Impartiality 221 - The Appeal 17th March 2007 223 - Conclusion 228 Chapter 11 Views and Reflections on the Appeal System 230 - Views on the Court of Appeal 230 > Intellectual Dishonesty? 230 > Additional Views of “Focused Case” Participants on 232 the Court of Appeal > Additional Professional Views on the Court of Appeal 233 - Views on the CCRC 237 > “Focused Case” Participants Views on the CCRC 237 > Professional Perspectives on the CCRC 240 Summary Conclusion of Part 4 243 PART 5 COULD IT HAPPEN NOW: POLITICAL AND CULTURAL 245 CONTEXTS AND CURRENT RISKS Chapter 12 The Political Context: From principles to “Efficiency” 246 - The Royal; Commission on Criminal Justice 247 - The Growth of Managerial Justice 249 - Legal Aid: A Case in Point 253 - Conclusion 256 Chapter 13
Recommended publications
  • John Sweeney Investigative Journalist, BBC Panorama

    John Sweeney Investigative Journalist, BBC Panorama

    John Sweeney Investigative journalist, BBC Panorama Media Masters – November 23, 2015 Listen to the podcast online, visit www.mediafocus.org.uk Welcome to Media Masters, a series of one to one interviews with those at the top of the media game. Today I’m joined by the writer and broadcaster John Sweeney. John is known for his in-depth investigative journalism and sometimes literally explosive documentaries. Now working with BBC Panorama, he reported for 12 years at the Observer, where he covered wars and chaos in more than 60 countries. His reports challenging the expert evidence of Professor Roy Meadow helped free cot death mum Sally Clark and six others, and led to him winning the first Paul Foot award. He has gone undercover in Chechnya, Zimbabwe and North Korea, where he posed as a professor. He famously lost his temper with the Church of Scientology after they harassed and spied on his team, and he challenged Vladimir Putin in Siberia over the war in Ukraine, and this year has reported on the refugee crisis and the Paris massacre. John, thanks for joining me. Hi, Paul. Shall we go straight into the Paris massacre, then? Because you’ve just literally got back from there. Well, yes. It’s a Friday night, I’m in the pub, I’ve had a few beers. I’m not catatonically out of it with alcohol, but I’m pretty drunk. Merry. Merry. And the deputy editor of Panorama phones, there’s been a lot dead in Paris… first train in the morning, couple of hours’ sleep, and it’s not proper sleep, and you hit it, and we go to this little… the Rue Alibert… and after I left LSE I worked for a photo agency in Paris for a month, so I don’t know the city well, but I love it.
  • Chapter 2 International Perspectives on Wrongful

    Chapter 2 International Perspectives on Wrongful

    CHAPTER 2 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON WRONGFUL CONVICTION 2.1 Introduction Judicial Error or miscarriage of justice will ―invariably identify at least some element of an earlier conviction as a mistake: whether evidential, procedural or material irregularity‖. - Edmond73 Wrongful conviction, as a major concern, was recognized initially in the United States beginning in the early 1930s. The subject of wrongful conviction caught the public and scholarly attention primarily based on individual cases in the U.S.; including cases like the ―Dreyfus affair in the nineteenth century, the infamous case of the ‗Scottsboro boys‘ in te 1920s, the case of Randall Dale Adams, Sam Sheppard case, the ‗Birmingham Six‘ case and the wrongful conviction of Michael and Lindy Chamberlain for the death of their daughter in Australia‖74 These cases had attracted much public attention due to the injustice suffered by the innocents and their families. Several books, article and research papers focussed on these cases, providing reasons and suggestions for the same. This led to exonerations of most of the cases that came under media limelight, where the jury was compelled to reconsider the facts and decide the case thoughtfully based on correct evidence. Most of the people who got exonerated, were sentenced to death. The exoneration of the wrongfully convicted individuals was, indeed, the major factor for identification of wrongful conviction as an impediment to criminal justice system. Numerous reasons can be attributed to the exonerations of individuals. The progress and development made in the field of forensic science such as the DNA testing of the evidence has contributed immensely to the convictions being overturned.
  • A Critical Analysis of Medical Opinion Evidence in Child Homicide Cases

    A Critical Analysis of Medical Opinion Evidence in Child Homicide Cases

    A critical analysis of medical opinion evidence in child homicide cases Sharmila Betts B.A. (Hons.), University of Sydney, 1985 M. Psychol., University of Sydney, 1987 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Law, The University of New South Wales (Sydney). i ii iii Acknowledgements No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. Henry David Thoreau I am a Clinical Psychologist practicing since 1987. My time at a tertiary level Child Protection Team at The Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, Australia brought to my attention the pivotal role of medical opinion evidence in establishing how children sustained injuries, which were sometimes fatal. This thesis began in a Department of Psychology, but I transferred to a Law Faculty. Though I am not a lawyer, the thesis endeavours to examine medico-legal and psychological aspects of sudden unexplained infant deaths. It sets itself the task of addressing important questions requiring rigorous and critical analysis to ensure accuracy and justice is achieved. I hope my thesis sheds light on this complex issue. Gary Edmond has been a mentor, guide and staunch critic. I am deeply grateful that he trusted a novice to navigate this perplexing field of inquiry. Emma Cunliffe has provided clarity in an area shrouded in uncertainty. Their patience, support and faith have enabled me to crystalise and formulate my fledgling insights into a dissertation. I am indebted to Natalie Tzovaras, Monique Ross, Katie Poidomani, and Janet Willinge for their administrative support. My husband, Grant, posed the question that started my journey - ‘how do doctors know the injuries were deliberately inflicted?’ Through my many doubts and fears, he iv maintained a trust in my ability to address this question and helped me return time and again to the seemingly overwhelming task before me.
  • Glossary of Legal Terms

    Glossary of Legal Terms

    GLOSSARY OF LEGAL TERMS This glossary defines a number of terms in common legal use. Many books on the law for non-lawyers contain glossaries. Check your library or bookstore. See especially, Lile Denniston’s The Reporter and the Law (New York: Hastings House, 1980), Barron’s Dictionary of Legal Terms (New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 1998) and Black’s Law Dictionary (West Publishing Company, Minneapolis). acquittal A finding of “not guilty,” certifying the innocence of a person charged with a crime. adversary system The trial methods used in the U.S. and some other countries, based on the belief that the trust can best be determined by giving opposing parties full opportunity to present and establish their evidence, and to test by cross-examination the evidence presented by their adversaries, under established rules of procedure before an impartial judge and/or jury. alternative dispute resolution Processes that people can use to help resolve conflicts rather than going to court. Common ADR methods include mediation, arbitration and negotiation. Amicus curiae A friend of the court; one not a party to the case who volunteers to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding a matter before it. appeal A request by the losing party in a lawsuit that the judgment be reviewed by a higher court. appellant The party who initiates an appeal. Sometimes called a petitioner. appellate court A court having jurisdiction to hear appeals and review a trial court’s decision. appellee The party against whom an appeal is taken, sometimes called a respondent.
  • Part 1: Introduction to American Legal Case Reading and Discussion

    Part 1: Introduction to American Legal Case Reading and Discussion

    Rei32020_Read1.qxd 1/30/07 2:44 PM Page 1 PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN LEGAL CASE READING AND DISCUSSION Rei32020_Read1.qxd 1/30/07 2:44 PM Page 2 Reading 1 The United States Legal System— The Courts and the Law Hierarchy of State and Federal Courts In the United States, state and federal constitutions provide for the establishment of the court system and give courts judicial power. The federal court system and most state court systems organize their courts in a hierarchy consisting of lower- level or trial courts, appellate courts, and a supreme court (see Figs. 1 and 2). Jurisdiction If a court has subject-matter jurisdiction, it has the authority to adjudicate or deter- mine the outcome of a legal matter. The Constitution of the United States, to bal- ance the power of the federal and state governments, specifically limits the scope of jurisdiction over the types of cases that federal courts may hear. Thus, it can be said that federal courts have limited jurisdiction. Under Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, their jurisdiction includes, among other things, all cases “arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties,” controversies in which the United States is a party and “Controversies between two or more States” or “Citizens of different States.” Also considered courts of limited or special jurisdiction are those courts that, by statute, are limited to particular types of cases they can hear—for example, state probate and juvenile courts. State courts may be regarded as courts of general jurisdiction because they have the authority to hear a broader range of cases.
  • Probability, Justice, and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction

    Probability, Justice, and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction

    The Mathematics Enthusiast Volume 12 Number 1 Numbers 1, 2, & 3 Article 5 6-2015 Probability, Justice, and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction Jeffrey S. Rosenthal Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/tme Part of the Mathematics Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Rosenthal, Jeffrey S. (2015) "Probability, Justice, and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction," The Mathematics Enthusiast: Vol. 12 : No. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/tme/vol12/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Mathematics Enthusiast by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TME, vol. 12, no. 1,2&3, p. 11 Probability, Justice, and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction Jeffrey S. Rosenthal University of Toronto, Canada Abstract: We consider the issue of standards of proof in legal decisions from the point of view of probability. We compare ``balance of probabilities'' and ``beyond a reasonable doubt'' to the statistical use of p-values. We point out various fallacies which sometimes arise in legal reasoning. And we provide several examples of legal cases which involved probabilities, including some in which incorrect decisions were made and defendants were wrongfully convicted. Keywords: probability, statistics, p-value, balance of probabilities, beyond a reasonable doubt, standard of proof. Background and Context I am a professor of statistics, and most of my work is fairly technical and mathematical (see www.probability.ca/jeff/research.html).
  • Koel Chatterjee Phd Thesis

    Koel Chatterjee Phd Thesis

    Bollywood Shakespeares from Gulzar to Bhardwaj: Adapting, Assimilating and Culturalizing the Bard Koel Chatterjee PhD Thesis 10 October, 2017 I, Koel Chatterjee, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Date: 10th October, 2017 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the patience and guidance of my supervisor Dr Deana Rankin. Without her ability to keep me focused despite my never-ending projects and her continuous support during my many illnesses throughout these last five years, this thesis would still be a work in progress. I would also like to thank Dr. Ewan Fernie who inspired me to work on Shakespeare and Bollywood during my MA at Royal Holloway and Dr. Christie Carson who encouraged me to pursue a PhD after six years of being away from academia, as well as Poonam Trivedi, whose work on Filmi Shakespeares inspired my research. I thank Dr. Varsha Panjwani for mentoring me through the last three years, for the words of encouragement and support every time I doubted myself, and for the stimulating discussions that helped shape this thesis. Last but not the least, I thank my family: my grandfather Dr Somesh Chandra Bhattacharya, who made it possible for me to follow my dreams; my mother Manasi Chatterjee, who taught me to work harder when the going got tough; my sister, Payel Chatterjee, for forcing me to watch countless terrible Bollywood films; and my father, Bidyut Behari Chatterjee, whose impromptu recitations of Shakespeare to underline a thought or an emotion have led me inevitably to becoming a Shakespeare scholar.
  • Policing Terrorism: an Executive’S Guide

    Policing Terrorism: an Executive’S Guide

    Policing Terrorism: An Executive’s Guide By Graeme R. Newman and Ronald V. Clarke This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 2007-CK-WX-K008 awarded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the authors or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues. The Internet references cited in this publication were valid as of July 2008. Given that URLs and web sites are in constant flux, neither the authors nor the COPS Office can vouch for their current validity. Policing Terrorism: An Executive’s Guide Letter from the Director Immediately after September 11, 2001, I convened a meeting with the heads of the five major executive law enforcement organizations in the United States. Those leaders told me that community policing was now more important than ever. Since then, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) on numerous occasions has brought together federal agencies, representatives from the private sector, law enforcement leaders from around the country, including campus public safety and tribal police, to explore creative solutions to violent crime and the persistent threat of terror. In each of these discussions we were continually brought back to the central role that community policing principles play in preventing and responding to the threats of terrorism.
  • An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence

    An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics: Language in Evidence

    An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics ‘Seldom do introductions to any fi eld offer such a wealth of information or provide such a useful array of exercise activities for students in the way that this book does. Coulthard and Johnson not only provide their readers with extensive examples of the actual evidence used in the many law cases described here but they also show how the linguist’s “toolkit” was used to address the litigated issues. In doing this, they give valuable insights about how forensic linguists think, do their analyses and, in some cases, even testify at trial.’ Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University ‘This is a wonderful textbook for students, providing stimulating examples, lucid accounts of relevant linguistic theory and excellent further reading and activities. The foreign language of law is also expertly documented, explained and explored. Language as evidence is cast centre stage; coupled with expert linguistic analysis, the written and spoken clues uncovered by researchers are foregrounded in unfolding legal dramas. Coulthard and Johnson have produced a clear and compelling work that contains its own forensic linguistic puzzle.’ Annabelle Mooney, Roehampton University, UK From the accusation of plagiarism surrounding The Da Vinci Code, to the infamous hoaxer in the Yorkshire Ripper case, the use of linguistic evidence in court and the number of linguists called to act as expert witnesses in court trials has increased rapidly in the past fi fteen years. An Introduction to Forensic Linguistics provides a timely and accessible introduction to this rapidly expanding subject. Using knowledge and experience gained in legal settings – Coulthard in his work as an expert witness and Johnson in her work as a West Midlands police offi cer – the two authors combine an array of perspectives into a distinctly unifi ed textbook, focusing throughout on evidence from real and often high profi le cases including serial killer Harold Shipman, the Bridgewater Four and the Birmingham Six.
  • Understanding Criminal Justice

    Understanding Criminal Justice

    Downloaded by [University of Defence] at 01:37 24 May 2016 Understanding Criminal Justice Few subjects provoke as much public fascination and political concern as crime, criminality, criminology, and criminal justice policy and practice. Understanding Criminal Justice seeks to provide students with a critical introduction to the range of theoretical, policy and operational issues faced by the criminal justice system in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It anticipates little or no prior knowledge of criminal justice, and seeks to provide an introduction to the area. This critical textbook provides both a thorough overview of the procedures central to the workings of the criminal justice system and a distillation of the topical debates that surround it. It outlines the political and historical context, detailing key procedures and challenging students to engage with current debates. Containing chapters on policing, prosecution, community justice and alternative modes of justice, this text provides a comprehensive coverage of the key topics included within under- graduate criminology programmes at an introductory level. Written in a lively and accessible style, this book will also be of interest to general readers and practitioners in the criminal justice system. Azrini Wahidin is a Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice in the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast, where she teaches criminology and criminal justice. She has written extensively in the field of older offenders in the criminal justice system and women in prison. Her books include: Older Women in the Criminal Justice System: Running Out of Time (Jessica Kingsley, 2004), Foucault and Ageing (Nova Press, 2005), Understanding Prison Staff (Willan, 2007) and Ageing, Crime and Society (Willan, 2006).
  • The Barrie Guide to the Law of Evidence 2020

    The Barrie Guide to the Law of Evidence 2020

    The Barrie Guide to the Law of Evidence 2020 Barrie Goldstone Head of the School of Law London Metropolitan University 0 THE LAW OF EVIDENCE CONTENTS A GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO EVIDENCE B TYPES OF EVIDENCE 2 TYPES OF EVIDENCE C THE THREE PILLARS OF EVIDENCE 3 RELEVANCE, ADMISSIBILITY AND WEIGHT D BURDENS OF PROOF 4 THE LEGAL BURDEN OF PROOF 5 THE EVIDENTIAL BURDEN OF PROOF 6 THE REVERSE BURDEN OF PROOF 7 REVERSING THE EVIDENTIAL BURDEN E THE STANDARDS OF PROOF 8 BEYOND ALL REASONABLE DOUBT 9 THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITIES F CONFESSION EVIDENCE 10 INTRODUCTION TO CONFESSIONS 11 THE DEFINITION OF A CONFESSION 12 CONFESSIONS OBTAINED BY OPPRESSION 13 UNRELIABLE CONFESSIONS 14 UNFAIR CONFESSIONS 15 THE COMMON LAW TEST G ACCESS TO LEGAL ADVICE 16 CODE C, PACE s.58 AND ARTICLE 6 17 FRUIT OF THE POISONED TREE 1 H CHARACTER EVIDENCE 18 EVIDENCE OF BAD CHARACTER: Introduction and History 19 EVIDENCE OF BAD CHARACTER: CJA 2003 Definitions 20 EVIDENCE OF BAD CHARACTER: CJA 2003 Gateways 21 THE EXCLUSIONARY DISCRETION 22 THE CHILD DEFENDANT I SILENCE 23 SILENCE AS A CONFESSION 24 THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT: Introduction 25 THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT WHEN INTERVIEWED 26 THE OPERATION OF SECTION 34 27 FOLLOWING LEGAL ADVICE TO REMAIN SILENT J THE RULE AGAINST HEARSAY 28 INTRODUCTION TO HEARSAY 29 HEARSAY: POLICY AND PRACTICE 30 WHAT IS HEARSAY EVIDENCE? 31 THE RULE AGAINST HEARSAY EVIDENCE 32 THE STATUTORY DEFINITION OF HEARSAY EVIDENCE 33 STATUTORY CATEGORIES OF ADMISSIBILITY 34 CASES WHERE THE WITNESS IS UNAVAILABLE 35 CASES INVOLVING
  • A Veritable Revolution: the Court of Criminal Appeal in English

    A Veritable Revolution: the Court of Criminal Appeal in English

    A VERITABLE REVOLUTION: THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL IN ENGLISH CRIMINAL HISTORY 1908-1958 A THESIS IN History Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS by CECILE ARDEN PHILLIPS B.A. University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1986 Kansas City, Missouri 2012 © 2012 CECILE ARDEN PHILLIPS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED A VERITABLE REVOLUTION: THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL IN ENGLISH CRIMINAL HISTORY 1908-1958 Cecile Arden Phillips, Candidate for the Masters of Arts Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2012 ABSTRACT In a historic speech to the House of Commons on April 17, 1907, British Attorney General, John Lawson Walton, proposed the formation of what was to be the first court of criminal appeal in English history. Such a court had been debated, but ultimately rejected, by successive governments for over half a century. In each debate, members of the judiciary declared that a court for appeals in criminal cases held the potential of destroying the world-respected English judicial system. The 1907 debates were no less contentious, but the newly elected Liberal government saw social reform, including judicial reform, as their highest priority. After much compromise and some of the most overwrought speeches in the history of Parliament, the Court of Criminal Appeal was created in August 1907 and began hearing cases in May 1908. A Veritable Revolution is a social history of the Court’s first fifty years. There is no doubt, that John Walton and the other founders of the Court of Criminal Appeal intended it to provide protection from the miscarriage of justice for English citizens convicted of criminal offenses.