David J. A. Cairns
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198262848
- eISBN:
- 9780191682414
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262848.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
The modern adversarial criminal trial emerged from the punitive and procedural upheaval in the criminal law of the first half of the nineteenth century. The campaign against capital punishment, which ...
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The modern adversarial criminal trial emerged from the punitive and procedural upheaval in the criminal law of the first half of the nineteenth century. The campaign against capital punishment, which marked the century's early decades, stimulated procedural reform, including the enactment in 1836 of the Prisoners' Counsel Act. The 1836 Act enabled defence counsel for the first time to address the jury in felony trials. It generated a unique debate in Parliament, the press and the legal professions on the merits and dangers of advocacy. This book examines the debate and the practical implications of procedural reform for the conduct of criminal trials. The topics discussed include the increasing sophistication of prosecution and defence advocacy, the beginnings of modern professional ethics and the conscious rationalisation of adversary procedure as the best means to discover the truth. The book analyses the practice of advocacy and identifies its significance for the administration of justice. It includes case studies of four major criminal trials that demonstrate the interrelationships between advocacy and procedure in the making of the adversarial criminal trial.Less
The modern adversarial criminal trial emerged from the punitive and procedural upheaval in the criminal law of the first half of the nineteenth century. The campaign against capital punishment, which marked the century's early decades, stimulated procedural reform, including the enactment in 1836 of the Prisoners' Counsel Act. The 1836 Act enabled defence counsel for the first time to address the jury in felony trials. It generated a unique debate in Parliament, the press and the legal professions on the merits and dangers of advocacy. This book examines the debate and the practical implications of procedural reform for the conduct of criminal trials. The topics discussed include the increasing sophistication of prosecution and defence advocacy, the beginnings of modern professional ethics and the conscious rationalisation of adversary procedure as the best means to discover the truth. The book analyses the practice of advocacy and identifies its significance for the administration of justice. It includes case studies of four major criminal trials that demonstrate the interrelationships between advocacy and procedure in the making of the adversarial criminal trial.
