Bentley, David Ronald (1993) Trial on indictment in nineteenth century England. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to assess how far trial
on indictment in nineteenth century England conformed to
-." the present day concept of a fair trial.
What by contemporary English standards are
considered the essential elements of a fair trial the
thesis deduces from current statute and case law. Having
identified these elements it attempts to discover how
far they were present in the nineteenth century system.
The analysis broadly follows the chronology of the trial
itself, with particular attention paid to legal aid, the
campaign to abolish the rule rendering prisoners and
their spouses incompetent as witnesses in their own
defence, and appellate remedies. The conclusion reached
is that, although at the start of the nineteenth century
the trial system fell well short of the twentieth
century model, by the century's end it had (except in
relation to legal aid and appellate remedies) moved much
closer to it.
For its analysis of the trial system the research
draws upon eighteenth and nineteenth century law texts
supplemented by evidence as to trial practice gleaned
from contemporary reports of trials (in particular the
reports in The Times, the Central Criminal Court
Sessions Papers and Legal Journals), legal memoirs and
biographies, and unpublished material in the Public
" Record Office and elsewhere. The most important single
unpublished source consulted has been the notebooks
which record the reserved criminal cases which came
before the Common Law judges between'*1785 and 1828. Reports of Royal Commissions, and Select Committees,
draft Bills and the Reports of Parliamentary Debates
(supplemented by articles in newspapers and journals)
have provided the raw material upon which the account
given of the reforms made and attempted during the
century is based.
Metadata
Keywords: | Criminal justice system; Courts |
---|---|
Awarding institution: | University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Law (Sheffield) |
Identification Number/EthosID: | uk.bl.ethos.287742 |
Depositing User: | EThOS Import Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Apr 2016 15:15 |
Last Modified: | 14 Apr 2016 15:15 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:10214 |
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