The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial (Paperback)

The adversary system of trial, the defining feature of the Anglo-American legal procedure, developed late in English legal history. For centuries defendants were forbidden to have legal counsel, and lawyers seldom appeared for the prosecution either. Trial was meant to be an occasion for the defendant to answer the charges in person. The transformation from lawyer-free to lawyer-dominated criminal trial happened within the space of about a century, from the 1690's to the 1780's. This book explains how the lawyers captured the trial. In addition to conventional legal sources, Professor Langbein draws upon a rich vein of contemporary pamphlet accounts about trials in London's Old Bailey. The book also mines these novel sources to provide the first detailed account of the formation of the law of criminal evidence. Responding to menacing prosecutorial initiatives (including reward-seeking thieftakers and crown witnesses induced to testify in order to save their own necks) the judges of the 1730's decided to allow the defendant to have counsel to cross-examine accusing witnesses. By restricting counsel to the work of examining and cross-examining witnesses, the judges intended that the accused would still need to respond in person to the charges against him. Professor Langbein shows how counsel manipulated the dynamics of adversary procedure to defeat the judges design, ultimately silencing the accused and transforming the very purpose of the criminal trial. Trial ceased to be an opportunity for the accused to speak, and instead became an occasion for defense counsel to test the prosecution case.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Oxford Studies in Modern Legal History
Release date:	June 2005
First published:	September 2005
Authors:	John H Langbein
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 21mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	354
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-928723-9
Categories:	Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > Criminal law Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1500 to 1750 Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > General Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > Courts & procedure > General Books > History > British & Irish history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > General Books > History > World history > 1500 to 1750 Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Promotions
LSN:	0-19-928723-6
Barcode:	9780199287239

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!