NCJ Number
210646
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2005 Pages: 196-200
Date Published
August 2005
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article introduces this volume of the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, which focuses on miscarriages of justice.
Abstract
Miscarriage of justice is defined and the author argues that the definition should be expanded to include miscarriages of justice that are other than wrongful convictions. Other types of miscarriages of justice include wrongful arrests, ill-prepared attorneys, and harassment by police officers. Two general types of miscarriages of justice are identified as errors of due process and errors of impunity, which are distinguished by whether they impart unfair sanctioning or represent a lapse of justice. Neither type of miscarriage of justice received much scholarly attention before the 1930s and research since then has mainly focused on capital punishment cases. The author describes the Innocence Project, established in 1992 by two law professors in New York, which offers the pro bono services of law students to assist inmates who are challenging their convictions based on DNA evidence. The four articles presented in this volume contribute to the body of research of miscarriages of justice by providing important insights and identifying future research opportunities in the field. References