NCJ Number
184699
Date Published
2000
Length
281 pages
Annotation
Drawing on research evidence, this book examines the historical, structural, cultural, and political tensions within Great Britain's criminal process, identifying the ways in which routine injustices and wrongful convictions are produced.
Abstract
This analysis of the criminal justice process in England and Wales encompasses the various stages of the criminal justice process, beginning with the police constable's first contact with a suspect on the street and continuing to a possible arrest, trial, and disposition of the case, including appeal following conviction. The book examines the recommendations of the 1993 Royal Commission on Criminal Justice and the wave of legislation that followed it. A critical assessment of these recommendations, together with research findings on the functioning of the criminal process, leads the author to conclude that the occurrence of miscarriages of justice will continue, but the chances of detecting them will diminish. A miscarriage of justice refers to the failure of the criminal process to function in such a manner as to achieve outcomes that are considered "just" from several perspectives. In this study the concept of "miscarriage of justice" is used mainly in the sense understood by those committed to the application of due process principles and procedures in the criminal justice system. It refers not only to the wrongful conviction of innocent persons that results from the failed application of due process, but also to those who may be guilty but are convicted due to wrongful police practices. In seeking to understand the causes of these injustices, the authors identify the ways in which the accused are disadvantaged throughout the criminal justice process, i.e., in their relationships with the police, the prosecution, the courts, and even their own defense attorneys. Lists of cases and statutes, chapter notes, a 210-item bibliography, and a subject index