Andrew Ashworth

In recent years the English criminal justice system has been shaken by certain notorious cases such as the Guilford Four, the Birmingham Six, and the Cardiff Three. The quashing of convictions in these and other cases has brought to public notice the structural deficiencies which exist in the criminal justice system. In this work, Ashworth addresses one of the most controversial areas of the entire criminal process: the pre-trial stage. Taking as his starting point the detention of suspects in police custody, the author examines six key issues in the pre-trial process: the questioning of suspects, cautioning of offenders, prosecutorial review, remand decisions, mode of trial decisions, and plea bargaining. Drawing upon empirical research, substantive law, and official guidance, the author examines six key issues in the pre-trial process: the questioning of suspects, cautioning of offenders, prosecutorial review, remand decisions, mode of trial decisions, and plea bargaining. Drawing upon empirical research, substantive law, and official guidance, the author considers how the rights of victims and defendants are promoted within the system, and in particular considers the potential impact of the European Convention of Human Rights on the administration of criminal justice in England and Wales, together with a critical appraisal of the 1993 Royal Commission on Criminal Justice.

An Evaluative Study

The Criminal Process

Barry Mitchell

The law of homicide is probably the most high-profile area of the criminal law, yet has been relatively neglected by law reform agencies. In this text, six English criminal lawyers discuss the future shape of the English law of homicide.

Rethinking English Homicide Law

Liz Campbell

Mike Redmayne

"The Criminal Process offers an insightful and stimulating analysis of the key issues in criminal process and procedure, drawing on arguments from the law, research, policy, and principle to present an authoritative overview of this area of study. New to this edition: coverage of the issues relating to disclosure in criminal proceedings; an increased focus on corporate suspects, including analysis of deferred prosecution agreements; consideration of recent changes to stop and search policies and practices, and to police bail" -- page 4 of cover.

The Criminal Process addresses one of the most controversial areas of the entire criminal process: the pre-trial stage. Taking as his starting point the detention of suspects in policy custody, the author examines six key issues in the pre-trial process; the questioning of suspects, cautioning of offenders, prosecutorial review, remand decisions, mode of trial decisions, and plea bargaining. In this second edition the European Convention on Human Rights is given even greater prominence, in view of the Human Rights Acts 1998. The book brings principled argument and recent research findings to bear on legal developments such as the provisions on adverse inferences from silence in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; the forthcoming changes in the cautioning of young offenders; the new system of `plea before venue' for cases that might otherwise be committed to the Crown Court; and the statutory and other inducements for defendants to enter a guilty plea. This new edition also assesses recent criticisms of the Crown Prosecution Service, and places the controversial aspects of pre-trial justice within the framework of human rights. The book will continue to be the ideal text for all students of criminal justice and criminology, as well as academics and practitioners interested in the criminal justice system.

Principles of Criminal Law, now in its sixth edition, takes a distinctly different approach to the study of criminal law, while still covering all of the vital topics found on criminal law courses. Uniquely theoretical, it seeks to elucidate the underlying principles and theoretical foundations of the criminal law, and aims to critically engage readers by contextualizing and analyzing the law. This edition continues to fulfil this remit, while incorporating all of the most recent developments, such as the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, the Serious Crime Act 2007, the Law Commission report on murder, the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, and the Fraud Act 2006. This is essential reading for students seeking a sophisticated and critically engaging exploration of the subject.

Principles of Criminal Law

Martin Wasik

The Oxford Monographs On Criminal Law And Justice series aims to cover all aspects of criminal law and procedure including criminal evidence. the scope of the series is wide, encompassing both practical and theoretical works. Series Editor: Professor Andrew Ashworth, Vinerian Professor of English Law, All Souls College, Oxford. This volume is a thematic collection of essays on sentencing theory by leading writers. The essays fall into three groups. Part I considers the underlying justifications for the imposition of punishment by the State, and examines the relationship between victims, offenders and the State. Part II addresses a number of areas of sentencing policy that have given rise to particular difficulty, such as the sentencing of drug offenders, the rationale for discounting sentences for multiple offenders, the existence of special sentencing for young offenders, and cases where the injury done to the victim is of a different magnitude from what might have been expected. Part III raises various questions about the unequal impact on offenders of different sentencing measures, and examines the extent to which sentences should be adjusted to take account of these different impacts and of broader social inequalities. This volume is dedicated to Professor Andrew von Hirsch, whose continuing work on sentencing theory provided the stimulus for the collection.

Essays in Honour of Andrew Von Hirsch

Fundamentals of Sentencing Theory

Lucia Zedner

'Preventative Justice' looks at the use of coercive preventive measures by the state, both within and beyond criminal law. Examining preventive laws, measures, and institutions in and outside the criminal law, it explores the justifications given for using coercion to protect the public from harm.

Preventive Justice

Andrew Ashworth expertly examines the key issues in English sentencing policy and practice including the mechanisms for producing sentencing guidelines. He considers the most high-profile stages in the criminal justice process such as the Court of Appeal's approach to the custody threshold, the framework for the sentencing of young offenders and the abiding problems of previous convictions in sentencing. Taking into account the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the book's inter-disciplinary approach places the legislation and guidelines on sentencing in the context of criminological research, statistical trends and theories of punishment. By examining the law in relation to elements of the wider criminal justice system, including the prison and probation services, students gain a rounded perspective on the relevant principles and problems of sentencing and criminal justice.

Sentencing and Criminal Justice

Jeremy Horder

"Provides a refined analysis of the theoretical foundations which shape the statutory provisions and case law"--Page 4 of cover.

Patrick Tomlin

Exploring the principles and values that should guide and limit the state's use of preventive techniques that involve coercion against the individual, this volume arises from a three-year study of Preventive Justice. The contributions examine whether and when preventive measures are justified, whether within or outwith the criminal law, and whether they signal a larger change in the architecture of security. Preventive measures include controversial crime control approaches such as pre-inchoate offences, pre-trial detention, restraining orders, and prevention detention of the dangerous. There are good reasons to justify state use of coercion to protect the public from harm, but while the rationales and justifications for state punishment have been extensively explored, the scope, limits, and principles of preventive justice have not received the same attention. This volume, written by world renowned scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds and jurisdictions, redresses the balance, assessing the foundations for the range of coercive measures that states now take in the name of prevention and public protection.

Prevention and the Limits of the Criminal Law

This book offers a set of essays, old and new, examining the positive obligations of individuals and the state in matters of criminal law. The centrepiece is a new, extended essay on the criminalisation of omissions-examining the duties to act imposed on individuals and organisations by the criminal law, and assessing their moral and social foundations. Alongside this is another new essay on the state's positive obligations to put in place criminal laws to protect certain individual rights. Introducing the volume is the author's much-cited essay on criminalisation, 'Is the Criminal Law a Lost Cause?'. The book sets out to shed new light on contemporary arguments about the proper boundaries of the criminal law, not least by exploring the justifications for imposing positive duties (reinforced by the criminal law) on individuals and their relation to the positive obligations of the state.

Andrew Ashworth

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