Placed uniquely at the intersection of common law and civil law, mixed legal systems are today attracting the attention both of scholars of comparative law, and of those concerned with the development of a European private law. Pre-eminent among the mixed legal systems are those of Scotland and South Africa. In South Africa the Roman-Dutch law, brought to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 was, from the early nineteenth century onwards, infused with and re-moulded by the common law of the British imperial master. In Scotland a more gradual and elusive process saw the Roman-Scots law of the early modern period fall under the influence of English law after the Act of Union in 1707. The result, in each case, was a system of law which drew from both of the great European traditions whilst containing distinctive elements of its own. This volume sets out to compare the effects of this historical development by assessing whether shared experience has led to shared law. Key topics from the law of property and obligations are examined, collaboratively and comparatively, by teams of leading experts from both jurisdictions. The individual chapters reveal an intricate pattern of similarity and difference, enabling courts and legal writers in Scotland and South Africa to learn from the experience of a kindred jurisdiction. They also, in a number of areas, reveal an emerging and distinctive jurisprudence of mixed systems, and thus suggest viable answers to some of the great questions which must be answered on the path towards a European private law.

The second edition of Children s Testimony is a fully up-to-date resource for practitioners and researchers working in forensic contexts and concerned with children's ability to provide reliable testimony about abuse. * Written for both practitioners and researchers working in forensic contexts, including investigative interviewers, police officers, lawyers, judges, expert witnesses, and social workers * Explores a range of issues involved with children's testimony and their ability to provide reliable testimony about experienced or witnessed events, including abuse * Avoids jargon and highly technical language * Includes a comprehensive range of contributions from an international group of practitioners and researchers to ensure topicality and relevance

Drawing on Foucauldian theory and 'social harm' paradigms, Michael Naughton offers a radical redefinition of miscarriages of justice from a critical perspective. This book uncovers the limits of the entire criminal justice process and challenges the dominant perception that miscarriages of justices are rare and exceptional cases of wrongful imprisonment.

Can punishments ever meaningfully be proportioned in severity to the seriousness of the crimes for which they are imposed? A great deal of attention has been paid to the general justification of punishment, but the thorny practical questions have received significantly less. Serious analysis has seldom delved into what makes crimes more or less serious, what makes punishments more or less severe, and how links are to be made between them. In Of One-eyed and Toothless Miscreants, Michael Tonry has gathered together a distinguished cast of contributors to offer among the first sustained efforts to specify with precision how proportionality can be understood in relation to the implementation of punishment. Each chapter examines scholarly and lay thinking about punishment of people convicted of crimes with particular emphasis on "making the punishment fit the crime." The contributors challenge the most prevalent current theories and emphasize the need for a shift away from the politicized emotionalism of recent decades. They argue that theories that coincided with mass incarceration and rampant injustice to countless individuals are evolving in ways that better countenance moving toward more humane and thoughtful approaches. Written by many of the leading thinkers on punishment, this volume dissects previously undeveloped issues related to considerations of deserved punishment and provides new ways to understand both the severities of punishment and the seriousness of crime.

In Democracy in America, de Tocqueville observed that there is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one. Two hundred years of American history have certainly born out the truth of this remark. Whether a controversy is political, economic, or social, whether it focuses on child labor, prayer in public schools, war powers, busing, abortion, business monopolies, or capital punishment, eventually the battle is taken to court. And the ultimate venue for these vital struggles is the Supreme Court. Indeed, the Supreme Court is a prism through which the entire life of our nation is magnified and illuminated, and through which we have defined ourselves as a people. Now, in The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, readers have a rich source of information about one of the central institutions of American life. Everything one would want to know about the Supreme Court is here, in more than a thousand alphabetically arranged entries. There are biographies of every justice who ever sat on the Supreme Court (with pictures of each) as well as entries on rejected nominees and prominent judges (such as Learned Hand), on presidents who had an important impact on - or conflict with - the Court (including Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and on other influential figures (from Alexander Hamilton to Cass Gilbert, the architect of the Supreme Court Building). More than four hundred entries examine every major case that the court has decided, from Marbury v. Madison (which established the Court's power to declare federal laws unconstitutional) and Scott v. Sandford (the Dred Scott Case) toBrown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade. In addition, there are extended essays on the major issues that have confronted the Court (from slavery to national security, capital punishment to religion, affirmative action to the Vietnam War), entries on judicial matters and legal terms (ranging from judicial review and separation of powers to amicus brief and habeas corpus), articles on all Amendments to the Constitution, and an extensive, four-part history of the Court. And as in all Oxford Companions, the contributions combine scholarship with engaging insight, giving us a sense of the personality and the inner workings of the Court. They examine everything from the wanderings of the Supreme Court (the first session was held in the Royal Exchange Building in New York City, and the Court at times has met in a Congressional committee room, a tavern, a rented house, and finally, in 1935, its own building), to the Jackson-Black feud and the clouded resignation of Abe Fortas, to the Supreme Court's press room and the paintings and sculptures adorning the Supreme Court building. The decisions of the Supreme Court have touched - and will continue to influence - every corner of American society. A comprehensive, authoritative guide to the Supreme Court, this volume is an essential reference source for everyone interested in the workings of this vital institution and in the multitude of issues it has confronted over the course of its history.

This open access book examines whether a distinctly Nordic procedural or court culture exists and what the hallmarks of that culture are. Do Nordic courts and court proceedings share a distinct set of ideas and values that in combination constitute the core of a regional legal culture? How do Europeanisation, privatisation, diversification and digitisation influence courts and court proceedings in the Nordic countries? The book traces the genesis and formation of Nordic courts and justice systems to provide a richer comprehension of contemporary Nordic legal culture, and an understanding of the relationship between legal cultural stability and change. In answering these questions, the book provides models for conceptualising procedural culture. Nordic procedural culture has partly developed organically and is partly also the product of deliberate efforts to maintain a certain level of alignment between the Nordic countries. Studying Nordic cooperation enables us to gain a deeper understanding of current regional, European and global harmonisation processes within procedural law. The influx of supranational European law, increased use of alternative dispute resolution and growth in regulation density that produces a conflict between specialisation and coherence, have tangible impact on the role of courts in a democratic society, the form of court proceedings and court structures. This book examines whether and why some trends exert more tangible, or perhaps simply more perceptible, influence on procedural culture than others.

This book reinvigorates the field of socio-legal inquiry examining the relationship between law and demography. Originally conceived as 'population law' in the 1960s following a growth in population and a use of law to temper population growth, this book takes a new approach by examining how population change can affect the legal system, rather than the converse. It analyses the impact of demographic change on the judicial system, with a geographic focus on Australian courts but with global insights and it raises questions about institutional structures. Through four case studies, it examines how demographic change impacts on the judicial system and how should the judicial system adapt to embody a greater preparedness for the demographic changes that lie ahead? It makes recommendations for reform and speaks to applied demographers, socio-legal scholars, and those interested in judicial institutions.

Obtaining justice through Japan's civil justice system requires a nuanced understanding of Japanese legal culture, particularly the fundamental differences between the notion of individual rights that underlies American law and the adversarial system, and the deeply ingrained sense of 'group rights' and conciliation that is becoming more a part of the way law in Japan is actually practiced. This timely guide is unique in relating modern civil procedure to aspects of Japanese society from both the feudal and prewar period. Particularly useful for the busy practitioner is the checklist of differing societal and cultural approaches of the American and Japanese systems that have major impact on current legal practices.
Also includes an in-depth analysis of:
The philosophical bent of the supreme court
How the judicial system has responded to the demands of the urban population
How new reforms in lawyer training are expected to improve the civil justice system
Contemporary avenues and uses of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

This is the second volume in a new series designed to cover the previously-neglected inquisitions post mortem of the fifteenth century between 1422 and 1485. Inquisitions post mortem were compiled with the help of jurors from the area, as a county-by-county record of a deceased individual's land-holdings and associated rights, where the individual held land directly of the crown. It is this explicit connection with land and locality - in terms economic, social, political, and topographical - that makes these documents of comprehensive interest to a broad range of historians and archaeologists. The inclusion of jurors' names and full manorial extents is standard in the new series as is the calendaring of information offered by the associated writs. Analogous documents consist of proofs of age, of particular interest to historians of memory, and assignments of dower. CLAIRE NOBLE is a Research Associate, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge. Academic Director and General Editor: CHRISTINE CARPENTER

Innovations in Evidence and Proof brings together fifteen leading scholars and experienced law teachers based in Australia, Canada, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, the USA and England and Wales to explore and debate the latest developments in Evidence and Proof scholarship. The essays comprising this volume range expansively over questions of disciplinary taxonomy, pedagogical method and computer-assisted learning, doctrinal analysis, fact-finding, techniques of adjudication, the ethics of cross-examination, the implications of behavioural science research for legal procedure, human rights, comparative law and international criminal trials. Communicating the breadth, dynamism and intensity of contemporary theoretical innovation in their diversity of subject-matter and approach, the authors nonetheless remain united by a common purpose: to indicate how the best interdisciplinary theorising and research might be integrated directly into degree-level Evidence teaching. Innovations in Evidence and Proof is published at an exciting time of theoretical renewal and increasing empirical sophistication in legal evidence, proof and procedure scholarship. This groundbreaking collection will be essential reading for Evidence teachers, and will also engage the interest and imagination of scholars, researchers and students investigating issues of evidence and proof in any legal system, municipal, transnational or global.

This innovative work builds on Huff and Killias' earlier publication (2008), but is broader and more thoroughly comparative in a number of important ways: (1) while focusing heavily on wrongful convictions, it places the subject of wrongful convictions in the broader contextual framework of miscarriages of justice and provides discussions of different types of miscarriages of justice that have not previously received much scholarly attention by criminologists; (2) it addresses, in much greater detail, the questions of how, and how often, wrongful convictions occur; (3) it provides more in-depth consideration of the role of forensic science in helping produce wrongful convictions and in helping free those who have been wrongfully convicted; (4) it offers new insights into the origins and current progress of the innocence movement, as well as the challenges that await the exonerated when they return to "free" society; (5) it assesses the impact of the use of alternatives to trials (especially plea bargains in the U.S. and summary proceedings and penal orders in Europe) in producing wrongful convictions; (6) it considers how the U.S. and Canada have responded to 9/11 and the increased threat of terrorism by enacting legislation and adopting policies that may exacerbate the problem of wrongful conviction; and (7) it provides in-depth considerations of two topics related to wrongful conviction: voluntary false confessions and convictions which, although technically not wrongful since they are based on law violations, represent another type of miscarriage of justice since they are due solely to unjust laws resulting from political repression.

Exploring the role played by cooperation in the law and management of modern, complex contracts, this book contrasts an in-depth review of case law with a large-scale empirical study of the views of commercial actors responsible for the outcomes of these contracts.

The issue of pre-trial release or bail remains an important topic in the criminal justice process. This is mainly because bail is concerned with one of the most important principles of justice, namely, individual freedom. The denial of release after arrest constitutes, without doubt, serious infraction to personal freedom. Thus, knowledge of the processes related to pre-trial release is important, not only to lawyers, but also to all who are interested in the right to freedom.

A Guide to Bail Applications second edition expands on some of the most important issues, case discussions and case excerpts related to bail applications. New information is also included which offers somewhat fresher perspectives to the material, without necessarily detracting from the general style, poise and content of the previous edition.

Self-representation has a long, venerable history dating to biblical times and continuing through the common law, the colonial era, to the present. This book collects and analyzes the law, ethics opinions, and empirical studies about the wide range of issues surrounding Self-represented litigants (SRLs) in our justice system, including how much, if any, assistance should a judge provide, what duties do lawyers interacting with SRLs, and many others. Using recent empirical studies from both Civil litigation and criminal defense, Jona Goldschmidt argues that SRLs' cases cannot be fairly heard without a mandatory judicial duty of reasonable assistance. In order to maintain public trust and confidence in our justice system, self-represented parties must be guided and assisted. Courts and the legal profession should continue to adapt and meet the challenge of managing and interacting with those who choose or are compelled to self-represent. Only when self-represented litigants are embraced by the courts, they will finally receive "equal justice under law." This book would be of interest to those studying criminal justice and legal studies, specifically legal history and legal ethics, as well as judges, lawyers and other professionals in the field.

This book exposes the dangerously imperfect forensic evidence that we rely on for criminal convictions. "That's not my fingerprint, your honor," said the defendant, after FBI experts reported a "100-percent identification." The FBI was wrong. It is shocking how often they are. Autopsy of a Crime Lab is the first book to catalog the sources of error and the faulty science behind a range of well-known forensic evidence, from fingerprints and firearms to forensic algorithms. In this devastating forensic takedown, noted legal expert Brandon L. Garrett poses the questions that should be asked in courtrooms every day: Where are the studies that validate the basic premises of widely accepted techniques such as fingerprinting? How can experts testify with 100-percent certainty about a fingerprint, when there is no such thing as a 100 percent match? Where is the quality control at the crime scenes and in the laboratories? Should we so readily adopt powerful new technologies like facial recognition software and rapid DNA machines? And why have judges been so reluctant to consider the weaknesses of so many long-accepted methods? Taking us into the lives of the wrongfully convicted or nearly convicted, into crime labs rocked by scandal, and onto the front lines of promising reform efforts driven by professionals and researchers alike, Autopsy of a Crime Lab illustrates the persistence and perniciousness of shaky science and its well-meaning practitioners.

Every day, police deception tactics fool millions of Americans into giving evidence they don't have to give, leading to their arrest and conviction in court because they don't know when and how to take advantage of their absolute constitutional right to remain silent. By the time they hear the Miranda warning, they have already voluntarily given up the evidence the police need to make an arrest by answering questions and taking sobriety tests, and in many cases, they've already guaranteed they'll lose in court. A Toast to Silence focuses on the right time before the Miranda warning to remain silent and not take tests and on the exact word-for-word lies the police cleverly disguise as truths to make people give up evidence-and shows you exactly when and how to use the power of silence to overcome these deceptive tactics for success in court.

This collection of essays aims to look afresh at an institution which continues to be of central importance to all who are interested in the development of European Union law and policy. The essays seek to develop particular avenues of analysis and perspectives - including a philosophical, a sociological and a gender-based analysis - which, despite the significant increase in the range and volume of literature on the Court of Justice, have not yet been fully explored.

The book provides a comprehensive and principled account of the uncertainty problem that arises in tort litigation. It presents and critically examines the existing doctrinal solutions of the problem, as evolved in England, the United States, Canada, and Israel, and also offers a number of original solutions, such as imposition of collective liability and liability for evidential damage. Among the issues dealt with by the book are rapidly developing areas of tort law, such as mass torts, liability for imposing risk and the like. The book combines the traditional doctrinal depiction of the law with general theoretical insights that include economic analysis.

Sentencing is one of the fastest moving areas of law, with frequent legislative changes and hundreds of reported appellate decisions each year. The fourth edition of "Emmins on Sentencing" provides the most comprehensive coverage of modern sentencing law currently available. It offers a clear and authoritative guide to the sentences which are available to the courts and describes the powers of sentencing which can be used and how they are likely to be exercised in practice by the Crown Court or magistrates' courts.;Since the last edition much of sentencing law has been consolidated in the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, and "Emmins on Sentencing" has been completely rewritten to take account of all these changes. This edition also deals with important reforms in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, including the introduction of exclusion orders, disqualification orders and drug abstinence orders. Numerous appellate decisions are explained and discussed in context, such as the developing case law on automatic life sentences, extended sentences, detention and training orders, victim impact evidence, and a range of new sentencing guideline decisions including drug offences, racially aggravated offences and handling stolen goods. The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on sentencing is explained, including the ramifications of Thompson and Venables v UK. The new Magistrates' Association Guidelines are also set out.

Addresses the relationship between law and the visual and the importance of photography in show trials. Includes case studies from Albania, East Germany, and Poland. Will appeal to legal and cultural theorists.

Waltenburg and Swinford provide a detailed and systematic examination of state government activity before the U.S. Supreme Court. They provide an explanatory model of state litigation behavior that both rests upon a solid theoretical perspective and places state decisions in a larger political context. After an examination of the evolution of U.S. constitutional law on issues of direct state concern, Waltenburg and Swinford focus most of their attention on qualitative and quanitative analyses of the behavior over time of states in all their roles before the Court. Scholars and other researchers interested in judicial decision-making, Constitutional Law, and inter-governmental relations will find this a particularly useful study.

While in no way supporting the systemic injustices and disparities of mass incarceration, Gifts from the Dark: Learning from the Incarceration Experience argues that we have much to learn from those who have been and are in prison. Schwartz and Chaney profile the contributions of literary giants, social activists, entrepreneurs, and other talented individuals who, despite the disorienting dilemma of incarceration, are models of adult transformative learning that positively impact the world. The authors interweave narratives with both qualitative and quantitative research references to analyze the role of solitude, writing, non-verbal communication; race and gender; physical exercise; education; technology; family and parenting; and the need to "give back" that precipitate transformative learning. The prison cell becomes a counterspace of metamorphosis. In focusing upon how men and women have chosen the worst moments of their lives as a baseline not to define, but to refine themselves, Gifts from the Dark promises to forever alter the limited mindset of incarceration as a solely one-dimensional, deficit event.

Punishment policies and practices in the United States today are unprincipled, chaotic, and much too often unjust. The financial costs are enormous. The moral cost is greater: countless individual injustices, mass incarceration, the world's highest imprisonment rate, extreme disparities, especially affecting members of racial and ethnic minority groups, high rates of wrongful conviction, assembly line case processing, and a general absence of respectful consideration of offenders' interests, circumstances, and needs. In Doing Justice, Preventing Crime, Michael Tonry lays normative and empirical foundations for building new, more just, and more effective systems of sentencing and punishment in the twenty-first century. The overriding goals are to treat people convicted of crimes justly, fairly, and even-handedly; to take sympathetic account of the circumstances of peoples' lives; and to punish no one more severely than he or she deserves. Drawing on philosophy and punishment theory, this book explains the structural changes needed to uphold the rule of law and its requirement that the human dignity of every person be respected. In clear and engaging prose, Michael Tonry surveys what is known about the deterrent, incapacitative, and rehabilitative effects of punishment, and explains what needs to be done to move from an ignoble present to a better future.

High Courts and Economic Governance in Argentina and Brazil analyzes how high courts and elected leaders in Latin America interacted over neoliberal restructuring, one of the most significant socioeconomic transformations in recent decades. Courts face a critical choice when deciding cases concerning national economic policy, weighing rule of law concerns against economic imperatives. Elected leaders confront equally difficult dilemmas when courts issue decisions challenging their actions. Based on extensive fieldwork in Argentina and Brazil, this study identifies striking variation in inter-branch interactions between the two countries. In Argentina, while the high court often defers to politicians in the economic realm, inter-branch relations are punctuated by tense bouts of conflict. The Brazilian high court and elected officials, by contrast, routinely accommodate one another in their decisions about economic policy. Diana Kapiszewski argues that the two high courts' contrasting characters - political in Argentina and statesman-like in Brazil - shape their decisions on controversial cases and condition how elected leaders respond to their rulings, channeling inter-branch interactions into persistent patterns.