Fair Trial

"Bibliographical notes": pages 479-494.

Adopting a microhistory approach, Fair and Unfair Trials in the British Isles, 1800-1940 provides an in-depth examination of the evolution of the modern justice system. Drawing upon criminal cases and trials from England, Scotland, and Ireland, the book examines the errors, procedural systems, and the ways in which adverse influences of social and cultural forces impacted upon individual instances of justice. The book investigates several case studies of both justice and injustice which prompted the development of forensic toxicology, the implementation of state propaganda and an increased interest in press sensationalism. One such case study considers the trial of William Sheen, who was prosecuted and later acquitted of the murder of his infant child at the Old Baily in 1827, an extraordinary miscarriage of justice that prompted outrage amongst the general public. Other case studies include trials for treason, theft, obscenity and blasphemy. Nash and Kilday root each of these cases within their relevant historical, cultural, and political contexts, highlighting changing attitudes to popular culture, public criticism, protest and activism as significant factors in the transformation of the criminal trial and the British judicial system as a whole. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources, including legal records, newspaper articles and photographs, this book provides a unique insight into the evolution of modern criminal justice in Britain.

Use this collection of over 60 primary documents to trace the evolution of trial rights from English and colonial beginnings to our contemporary understanding of their meaning. Court cases and other documents bring to life the controversies that have historically surrounded the rights of those who have been accused in the American legal system. Explanatory introductions to documents aid users in understanding the various arguments put forth and the context in which the document was written, while illuminating the significance of each document. Students will be able to trace how the expansion of trial rights is directly correlated to historical events and social concerns. Documents are arranged chronologically to provide readers with a clear view of the long convoluted history of these rights in our country and to clearly illustrate how trial rights have grown over time to provide more protection for a growing number of individuals. A general introduction to the volume further explores the history of the concept of trial rights to provide a complete reference resource to complicated issues.

The volume contains the papers submitted to the International Symposium on "The Right to a Fair Trial" held at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. The Symposium undertook one of the most comprehensive surveys in recent times of the implications of the fair trial principle with regard to criminal proceedings, ranging from the rights of the accused during the pre-trial procedure through the principle of impartiality of judges to the application of the right to a fair trial in emergency situations, both under domestic and international law. Well-known specialists assess to which extent these standards have actually been implemented in national legal systems and what reforms are necessary to enhance the effectiveness of international human rights law in this area.

When Slobodan Milošević died in the United Nations Detention Unit in The Hague over four years after his trial had begun, many feared - and some hoped - that international criminal justice was experiencing some sort of death itself. Yet the Milošević case, the first trial of a former head of state by a truly international criminal tribunal and one of the most complex and lengthy war crimes trials in history, stands for much in the development and the future of international criminal justice, both politically and legally. This book, written by the senior legal advisor working for the Trial Chamber, analyses the trial to determine what lessons can be learnt that will improve the fair and expeditious conduct of complex international criminal proceedings brought against former heads of state and senior political and military officials, and develops reforms for the future achievement of best practice in international criminal law.

The Digest of Judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (DJSCN), is a legal practice book, which is a comprehensive compendium of Nigerian case law at the apex level of the Nigerian Judiciary. The DJSCN, is produced in four volumes which comprise the judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria for over a period of forty-three years. The first and second volumes cover the judgments of the Supreme Court on Practice and Procedure, Courts, Criminal Law and Procedure and Evidence. The last two volumes cover contemporary issues in different branches of law.

Interest in administrative justice and the judicial review of administrative acts has been growing in many countries recently, including many Council of Europe member states. At the core of an accountable and transparent administration is the right to effectively challenge acts and decisions that affect civil rights and obligations, and the daily life of individuals. Effective means of redress against administrative decisions require a functioning system of administrative justice that provides fair trial guarantees. An administrative process should be public, held within a reasonable time, undertaken by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law and result in an enforceable judgment that is pronounced publicly. This casebook, the first of its kind, provides a systematic and accessible overview of what administrative justice means for Council of Europe member states. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to a fair trial is described and analysed as it relates to administrative proceedings. It is the hope of the Council of Europe and the Folke Bernadotte Academy that this casebook will help practitioners in the field of administrative justice to ensure fair trial standards and their principles applicable under Article 6, paragraph 1, of the European Convention on Human Rights are respected and, by doing so, further strengthen the rule of law and the accountability and transparency of public administration and administrative justice in the member states of the Council of Europe.

The Namibian Constitution entrenches fundamental rights and freedoms, and provides for their vertical and horizontal application in any criminal process. However, since Independence in 1990, Namibia has developed its own criminal jurisprudence. Criminal procedure and law are taking new shape. Namibian courts have pronounced on criminal issues, and legislation has been passed to keep up with the demands, aspirations, spirit, and vision of the Namibian Constitution and its people. CLEVER MAPAURE, NDJODI NDEUNYEMA, PILISANO MASAKE, FESTUS WEYULU and LOIDE SHAPARARA have written an invaluable book that deals with these developments. It explains the rights of individuals, the duties of law enforcement officers, and the procedures of the courts in criminal cases. The Law of Pre-Trial Criminal Procedure in Namibia introduces readers to the fundamental principles and values underlying Namibian criminal law, through a systematic examination of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977) as amended, which was originally passed by the legislature of South Africa, and still regulates criminal procedure in Namibia, the amendments to it since 1990, and relevant Namibian Case Law. The book captures and discusses the law relating to the pre-trial criminal process in Namibia in detail, from the roles of the prosecutor and the police, search, seizure and forfeiture, interrogation, notices and summons, arrest, court appearance, bail, criminal charges, disclosure, diminished capacity, right to assistance, to pleas and plea-bargaining.

How to face international crimes -- Fundamentals of international criminal law -- The interplay of international criminal law and other bodies of law -- International criminal trials.

USE THIS FIRST PARAGRAPH ONLY FOR GENERAL CATALOGS... The First Amendment right of free speech is a fragile one. Its fragility is found no less in legal opinions than in other, less specialized forms of public discourse. Both its fragility and its sometimes surprising resiliency are reflected in this book. It provides an examination of how the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt with the problem of restrictions on media coverage of the criminal justice system, as well as how lower courts have interpreted the law created by the Supreme Court. The author explores the degree to which the Court has created a coherent body of law that protects free expression values while permitting reasonable government regulation, and examines the Supreme Court's jurisprudence concerning prior restraints, post-publication sanctions on the press, and their right of access to criminal proceedings. This is a study of the evolution of constitutional doctrine -- particularly when transported from the rarefied air of the Supreme Court to lower court judges who may not share the values of the jurists above them in the judicial hierarchy. The book's greatest strength lies in its thorough analysis and critique of how judges apply First Amendment doctrine to the complex problem of providing for both a "free press" and "fair trials." Much of the available literature on this topic focuses on legal doctrine, but with attention to the legal rules that emerge from the courts, rather than examining and critiquing the judicial techniques that produce those rules. Moreover, although a significant body of scholarship has explored Supreme Court doctrine, this work is one of the few that trace the influence of those doctrines through lower federal court decisions. The hope is to produce a reasonably accurate -- if partial -- picture of how intermediate appellate and trial courts use U.S. Supreme Court doctrine to decide First Amendment cases. Note: This book is necessarily influenced by the 'round-the-clock' press coverage of the recent O.J. Simpson trial. Although the Simpson case did not make new law, the trial and its outcome seem to be -- at this writing -- an inescapable part of how many people think about these issues. The simple truth, however, is that the Simpson case was an anomaly that has little relation to the everyday concerns of media coverage of the criminal justice system. While the venerable "parade of horribles" can be an effective strategy for the legal advocate, it is not always the ideal way to address larger concerns, particularly when fundamental rights are at stake.