Law has a strangely complicated relationship to deception. Though it sometimes takes a hard line on behalf of truth - 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth' - competing values often cause law to look the other way. How and why is lying alternately accepted, condemned, or prosecuted? What are the government's interests in allowing or disallowing lying? Law and Lies is the first book to thematically address the role of lying in the American legal system. Undercover police agents are permitted to lie in the name of catching criminals, and government officials are permitted to lie in service of national security. In the case of the military's 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy, lying was not only permitted, but actively encouraged. A range of illuminating case studies reveal that the government's tolerance of deception is rarely as simple as the 'whole truth'.

This book explores the challenges of transitional justice in West Africa, specifically how countries in the region have dealt with transitional justice problems in the last 30 years (1990-2020), and how they have managed the process. Using comparative, historical, and legal analyses it examines the politics of justice after violent conflicts in West Africa, the major transitional justice mechanisms established in the region, and how countries have used these institutions to address injustice and the pains of war in some West African countries. The book examines how transitional justice mechanisms have contributed to victims' rights, reconciliation, and peace in transitional societies, and whether transitional justice mechanisms deployed in West Africa were suitable or ill-fitted, and the politics of deploying them. The book is addressed to a wide audience: policymakers, and graduate and post-graduate students of transitional justice, conflict resolution, peace studies, conflict transformation, international criminal law, law and similar subjects. This book will be of great value to academics and researchers, as well as lecturers in tertiary institutions offering relevant courses; legal practitioners; peace practitioners/NGOs; and those working in the field of transitional justice and human rights.

American Judicial Power: The State Court Perspective is a welcome addition to the breadth of studies on the American legal system and provides an accessible and highly illuminating overview of the state courts and their functions.The study of America's courts is overwhelmingly skewed toward the federal government, and therefore often overlooks state courts and their importance. Michael Buenger and Paul De Muniz fill this gap in the study of American constitutionalism, as they examine the wide and distinctive powers these courts exercise, and their role in administering the bulk of the nation's justice system. This groundbreaking work covers many critical topics pertaining to the state courts, including: a comparison of the role of state and federal courts, the history of America's state courts, the judicial selection processes utilized in the states, the unique roles assigned to state courts and the varying structure of those courts, the relationship between state judicial power and state legislative power, and the opportunities and challenges that are and will be facing the state courts. With an insightful foreword from Sanford Levinson, this revolutionary book will be of interest to students, educators, and researchers in the fields of law, political science, and government. Constitutional law experts will also benefit from an analysis of the state courts and their powers.

Exploring the growing significance of the administration of justice in both democratic and non-democratic countries, often labeled as 'the judicialization of politics', this timely book considers how increased levels of interest in the analysis of judicial institutions have been triggered. It examines the expansion of the role of judges and courts in the political system and the mixed reactions generated by these developments. In this comprehensive book, Carlo Guarnieri and Patrizia Pederzoli draw on a wealth of experience in teaching and research in the field, moving beyond traditional legal analysis and providing a clear, concise and all-encompassing introduction to the phenomenon of the administration of justice and all of its traits. Facilitating a deeper understanding of the concrete dynamics characterizing the judicial system and its relationships with the political environment, it also offers a balanced assessment of the process of judicialization. Students and scholars interested in comparative law and politics, and law and society, who wish to broaden their understanding of courts and the operation of the judicial system will find this to be a valuable resource. The wide coverage of cases from both common and civil law traditions will also appeal to practitioners.

The principle of proportionality is currently one of the most discussed topics in the field of comparative constitutional law. Many critics claim that courts use the proportionality test as an instrument of judicial self-empowerment. Proportionality and Judicial Activism tests this hypothesis empirically; it systematically and comparatively analyses the fundamental rights jurisprudence of the Canadian Supreme Court, the German Federal Constitutional Court and the South African Constitutional Court. The book shows that the proportionality test does give judges a considerable amount of discretion. However, this analytical openness does not necessarily lead to judicial activism. Instead, judges are faced with significant institutional constraints, as a result of which all three examined courts refrain from using proportionality for purposes of judicial activism.

Includes chapters from barristers from a diverse range of social backgrounds. Features a foreword from a recently qualified circuit judge. An ideal companion for students beginning to apply for barrister pupillages.

Why have many victim-centred policy initiatives met with so little success? How have those initiatives unfolded differently in different global jurisdictions over different periods of time? This book aims to address these questions. Building on a major research project exploring victims' access to justice over time and place, Victims' Access to Justice considers the potentialities for victims' participation in criminal justice systems and in victim programmes both in historical and comparative context. It considers a range of topics: ways of identifying and accommodating victims' needs and senses of justice; the impacts for criminal justice systems of seeking to accommodate these; and the ways in which adversarial criminal justice systems, in particular, may enable or inhibit victim participation. This is essential reading for all those engaged in understanding and working with victims of crime.

This book explores practical examples of co-production in criminal justice research and practice. Through a series of seven case studies, the authors examine what people do when they co-produce knowledge in criminal justice contexts: in prisons and youth detention centres; with criminalised women; from practitioners' perspectives; and with First Nations communities. Co-production holds a promise: that people whose lives are entangled in the criminal justice system can be valued as participants and partners, helping to shape how the system works. But how realistic is it to imagine criminal justice "service users" participating, partnering, and sharing genuine decision-making power with those explicitly holding power over them? Taking a sophisticated yet accessible theoretical approach, the authors consider issues of power, hierarchy, and different ways of knowing to understand the perils and possibilities of co-production under the shadow of "justice". In exploring these complexities, this book brings cautious optimism to co-production partners and project leaders. The book provides a foundational text for scholars and practitioners seeking to apply co-production principles in their research and practice. With stories from Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, the text will appeal to the international community. For students of criminology and social work, the book's critical insights will enhance their work in the field.

Addresses simple to advance microscopy techniques for the effective analyses of trace evidence Pairs chapters on a particular type of microscopy, explaining it fully, before delving into specific usage for forensic applications Presents theories and as well as the real-world applications outlining current standards and best practices Provides numerous micro-photographs from authors' and editors' collections, including graphical representations and flow charts to clearly illustrate concepts

Addresses simple to advance microscopy techniques for the effective analyses of trace evidence Pairs chapters on a particular type of microscopy, explaining it fully, before delving into specific usage for forensic applications Presents theories and as well as the real-world applications outlining current standards and best practices Provides numerous micro-photographs from authors' and editors' collections, including graphical representations and flow charts to clearly illustrate concepts

What role can US domestic courts play in the worldwide enforcement of human rights? When international courts deny hearings to individual plaintiffs who cannot obtain the sponsorship of their own government (which may well be the defendant), these plaintiffs are finding US courts increasingly willing to hear their cases. This volume considers the implications of this de facto extension of the jurisdiction of US courts, the problem of enforcing the decisions of the courts, the relationship between human rights law and foreign policy and the emerging consensus on the primacy of human rights over the sovereign rights of states.

This book seeks to provide and promote a better understanding and a more responsive and inclusive governance of the automation and digital devices in public institutions, particularly the law and justice sector. Concerns related to AI design and use have been exacerbated recently with the recognition of the discriminatory potential that can be embedded into AI applications in public service institutions. This book examines issues relating to the assigning of responsibility in a public service produced and delivered on the basis of an automated mechanism. It encourages critical thinking about the legal services and the justice institutions as they are transformed by AI and automation. It raises awareness as to the prospect of transformation we face in terms of responsibility and of agency and the need to design a citizen-centered and human rights compliant system of technology assessment and AI monitoring and evaluation. The book calls for a comprehensive strategy to enable professional practitioners and decision makers to engage in the design of AI driven legal and justice services. The work draws on on-going research and consulting activities carried out by the author across different countries and different systems in the legal and justice sector. The book offers a critical approach to encourage a new mindset among legal professionals and the justice institutions thus empowering and training them to develop the necessary responsiveness and accountability in the justice sector and legal systems. It will also be of interest to researchers and academics working in the area of AI, Public Law, Human Rights and Criminal Justice.

Written by leading scholars and judges, the Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation is a modern-day survey of the state of this essential field. The book is an important and timely contribution by leading corporate law scholars, judges, and practitioners, seeking to better understand and explain the proliferation of shareholder litigation across the globe. It provides a cross-jurisdictional survey of litigation and empirical evidence on the recent evolution of these lawsuits, including in-depth analyses of several key forms of shareholder litigation. Its chapters cover securities class actions, merger litigation, derivative suits, and appraisal litigation, as well as other forms of shareholder litigation. Through in-depth analysis of these different forms of litigation, the book explores the agency costs inherent in representative litigation, the challenges of multijurisdictional litigation and disclosure-only settlements, and the rise of institutional investors. It also surveys how related issues are addressed across the globe, with a special focus on parallel forms of litigation in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel and China. This Handbook will be an invaluable resource on this important topic for scholars of corporate law, practitioners, judges and legislators. Contributors include: D. Awrey, A. Badawi, R.A. Booth, E.A. Chiappinelli, S.J. Choi, B. Clarke, J.C. Coffee, Jr., J.D. Cox, J. Erikcson, J.J. Fedechko, J.E. Fisch, J.L. Gale, M. Gargantini, M. Gelter, S. Griffith, L.A. Hamermesh, S. Hannes, E. Kamar, C.R. Korsmo, J.T. Laster, A.M. Lipton, M. Myers, J.J. Park, A.C. Pritchard, P. Puri, A. Rickey, R. Ronnen, A.M. Rose, C. Silver, S.D. Solomon, R.S. Thomas, D. Webber, V. Winship, M. Wischmeier Shaner, C. Xi

Prosecutes the civil litigation system and proposes practical reforms to increase access to the courts and reduce costs. Civil litigation has come under fire in recent years. Some critics portray a system of dishonest lawyers and undeserving litigants who prevail too often, and are awarded too much money. Others criticize the civil justice system for being out of reach for many who have suffered real injury. But contrary to these perspectives and popular belief, the civil justice system in the United States is not out of control. In Civil Justice Reconsidered, Steven Croley demonstrates that civil litigation is, for the most part, socially beneficial. An effective civil litigation system is accessible to parties who have suffered legal wrongs, and it is reliable in the sense that those with stronger claims tend to prevail over those with weaker claims. However, while most of the system's failures are overstated, they are not wholly off base; civil litigation often imposes excessive costs that, among other unfortunate consequences, impede access to the courts, and Croley offers ways to reform civil litigation in the interest of justice for potential plaintiffs and defendants, and for the rule of law itself. A better litigation system matters only because of what is at stake for real people, and Civil Justice Reconsidered speaks to the thought leaders, litigation reformers, members of the bar and bench, and policymakers who can answer the call for reforming civil litigation in the United States.

An extensive survey of the pros and cons, evolution, and current issues surrounding one of the hottest topics in today's social debates. Death Penalty on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents sifts through the rhetoric, politics, and emotion that characterize one of the most highly discussed, yet least understood issues facing the United States today. Placing the death penalty in a historical perspective with an emphasis on the last 50 years, this case-driven volume explains the legal theory that has perpetuated it and the judicial reasoning, both pro and con, behind such landmark Supreme Court cases as Furman v. Georgia and The United States of America v. Alan Quinones. From the first Massachusetts Bay Colony execution and the inventions of the electric chair and gas chamber to DNA testing of inmates, readers will learn how and why capital punishment continues to be so controversial. Entries on critical events; issues such as race, age, and evidence of innocence; and individuals like Velma Barfield, the first woman executed after the reinstatement of the death penalty Chronology of the most important events in the legal history of capital punishment, including Atkins v. Virginia, a case involving the execution of people with mental disabilities

This book exposes the myriad of victims of wrongful conviction by going beyond the innocent person who has been wrongfully incarcerated to include the numerous indirect victims who suffer collaterally. In no way overlooking the egregious effects on the wrongfully convicted, this book widens the net to also examine consequences for family, friends, co-workers, witnesses, the initial victims of the crime, and society in general-all indirect victims who are often forgotten in treatments of wrongful conviction. Utilizing interviews of exonerees and indirect victims, the authors capture the tangible and intangible costs of victimization across the board. The prison experience is examined through the lens of an innocent person, and the psychological impact of incarceration for the exoneree is explored. Special attention is given to the often-ignored experience of female exonerees and to the impact of race as a compounding factor in a vast number of miscarriages of justice. The book concludes with an overview of the victimization experiences that follow exonerees upon release. Unique to this book is its interdisciplinary approach to the troubling subject of wrongful conviction, combining perspectives from a number of fields, including criminal justice, criminology, victimology, psychology, sociology, social justice, history, political science, and law. Undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines will find this book helpful in their respective areas of study, and professionals in the legal system will benefit from appreciation of the far-reaching costs of wrongful convictions.

This book exposes the myriad of victims of wrongful conviction by going beyond the innocent person who has been wrongfully incarcerated to include the numerous indirect victims who suffer collaterally. In no way overlooking the egregious effects on the wrongfully convicted, this book widens the net to also examine consequences for family, friends, co-workers, witnesses, the initial victims of the crime, and society in general-all indirect victims who are often forgotten in treatments of wrongful conviction. Utilizing interviews of exonerees and indirect victims, the authors capture the tangible and intangible costs of victimization across the board. The prison experience is examined through the lens of an innocent person, and the psychological impact of incarceration for the exoneree is explored. Special attention is given to the often-ignored experience of female exonerees and to the impact of race as a compounding factor in a vast number of miscarriages of justice. The book concludes with an overview of the victimization experiences that follow exonerees upon release. Unique to this book is its interdisciplinary approach to the troubling subject of wrongful conviction, combining perspectives from a number of fields, including criminal justice, criminology, victimology, psychology, sociology, social justice, history, political science, and law. Undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines will find this book helpful in their respective areas of study, and professionals in the legal system will benefit from appreciation of the far-reaching costs of wrongful convictions.

Teaching Evidence Law sets out the contemporary experiences of evidence teachers in a range of common law countries across four continents: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. It addresses key themes and places these in the context of academic literature on the teaching of evidence, proof and fact-finding. This book focuses on the methods used to teach a mix of abstract and practical rules, as well as the underlying skills of fact-analysis, that students need to apply the law in practice, to research it in the future and to debate its appropriateness. The chapters describe innovative ways of overcoming the many challenges of this field, addressing the expanding fields of evidence law, how to reach and accommodate new audiences with an interest in evidence, and the tools devised to meet old and new pedagogical problems in this area. Part of Routledge's series on Legal Pedagogy, this book will be of great interest to academics, post-graduate students, teachers and researchers of evidence law, as well as those with a wider interest in legal pedagogy or legal practice.

A lively narrative account of the first case to appear at the International Criminal Court, A Conviction in Question documents the trial of Union of Congolese Patriots leader and warlord, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. Although Dyilo's crimes, including murder, rape, and the forcible conscription of child soldiers, were indisputable, legal wrangling and a clash of personalities caused the trial to be prolonged for an unprecedented six years. This book offers an accessible account of the rapid evolution of international law and the controversial trial at the foundation of the International Criminal Court. The first book to thoroughly examine Dyilo's trial, A Conviction in Question looks at the legal issues behind each of the trial's critical moments, including the participation of Dyilo's victims at the trial and the impact of witness protection. Through eye-witness observation and analysis, Jim Freedman shows that the trial suffered from all the problems associated with ordinary criminal law trials, and uses Dyilo's case to further comment on the role of international courts in a contemporary global context.

Is it possible for mediation to strengthen the effectiveness of international commercial arbitration?What is the role of mediation in the pursuit of restorative justice?How successful is international peace mediation, and in particular, the efforts of the African Union?These groundbreaking discussions, and more, have been carefully selected for publication in Contemporary Issues in Mediation Volume 3, featuring an entry from Brazil for the first time. The 12 essays cover a diverse range of topics, written by both new and experienced mediators. Practitioners may be especially interested in the section titled 'Mediation Skills', featuring essays that take a micro-perspective of the mediation process and the skills deployed by mediators.

Homicide: Towards a Deeper Understanding offers an in-depth analysis into the phenomenon of homicide, examining different types of homicide and how these types have changed over time. Based on original analysis on Scottish data, this book draws upon an international body of research to contextualize the findings in a global setting, filling an important gap in the homicide literature pertaining to the relationship between trends in homicide and violence. Examining homicide from gendered as well as Gothic perspectives, this book also relates homicide to novel, critical theory. The book covers a thorough description of different types of homicide, including sexual homicide, and provides an explorative approach to the identification of homicide subtypes. The book also explores how these findings relate to current homicide theory, and proposes a new theoretical framework to gain a deeper understanding of this crime. The main argument of the book is that if homicide and its relationship to wider violence is to be fully understood, theoretically as well as empirically, this crime needs to be disaggregated in a way that reflects the underlying data. Overall, this book therefore fills an important gap in criminological literature, providing an in-depth understanding of one of the most serious violent crimes.

This book offers an assessment of Barbara Wootton's legacy as a pioneering public criminologist. Barbara Wootton (1897-1988) was a leading British social scientist, magistrate, academic and public servant. She was also a life peer (Baroness Wootton of Abinger) and the first woman to sit on the Woolsack in the House of Lords as Deputy Speaker. One of the Royal Commissions on which she served was on the Penal System, (1964) and two of the Departmental Committees were on the Business of the Criminal Courts (1958) and Criminal Statistics (1963). Of her written work perhaps the most famous is `Social Science and Social Pathology` (published in 1959) which was an attempt to discover what the social sciences had to say about criminality, its causes and its social effects. This book examines her career in historical context, and her contribution to thinking and scholarship on a range of topics. These topics range from the courts and the penal system and her report on the Community Service Order, to crime and criminal law and her analysis of the notions of mens rea, to her work on psychiatry and criminal justice. It explores her contribution as a utilitarian critic in Criminology, within the British empiricist tradition. Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, criminal justice, law and all those interested in learning more about Barbara's life and times.

Adversarial Justice and Victims' Rights explores the extent to which reforms that offer victims enhanced rights to information and participation across England and Wales, Ireland and South Australia can address sexual assault victims' procedural and substantive justice concerns. The rights, status and treatment of sexual assault victims has emerged as a significant 21st-century concern, occupying the forefront of legal commentary on international policy agendas. Informed by the voices of 26 high-level criminal justice professionals, legal stakeholders and victim support workers, and a quantitative dataset, this book considers whether legal representation can address some of the problems of the prosecution process for sexual assault victims in Victoria and, indeed, in other adversarial jurisdictions that employ similar legislative frameworks. While acknowledging the value of victim-focused reforms, the book contends that cultural changes to the ways in which sexual assault victims are perceived and treated are necessary in order to improve victims' experiences of the legal process. Reconceptualising the role of sexual assault victims from 'witnesses' to 'participants' will also increase the likelihood that victims' rights and interests will be considered alongside those of the state and the accused. Situating its findings within broader debates about the role, rights and treatment of sexual assault victims in adversarial justice systems, the book outlines prospects for the transfer of policy and practice between jurisdictions. Adversarial Justice and Victims' Rights will be of great interest to academic and policy stakeholders engaged in criminology, law and socio-legal studies, as well as students researching sexual violence and victims' access to justice.

Prisoners released from our bloated American correctional institutions return to a mostly unwelcoming society where they face onerous post-release challenges. No wonder recidivism is near fifty percent, adding tens of billions of dollars annually to the cost of American prisons. Sisyphus No More is a multifaceted argument for increasing prisoner education and training programs to promote the reintegration into society of returning prisoners and increase the likelihood of their securing living-wage jobs. By greatly reducing recidivism, the programs will pay for themselves several times over. Such programs also humanize the treatment of prisoners and help them escape the fate of Sisyphus, the mythological king condemned to a bitterly repetitive fate. The book has two parts. The first provides background on the American prison system and enumerates the tolls incarceration takes on prisoners, their families, and their communities and the costs released prisoners continue to pay that severely hinder their reintegration. In the second part, the authors set forth compelling psychological, sociological, ethical, and financial grounds for increasing education and training to support the reintegration of released prisoners. The final two chapters report on innovative prison education programs and identify steps toward making education and training a priority in our prisons.