Determining Mode of Trial: Exploring Decision Making in Magistrates? Courts - Softcover

Cammiss, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3639201752 ISBN 13: 9783639201758

Publisher: VDM Verlag, 2009

Synopsis

The criminal justice system in England and Wales has seen an extension of summary jurisdiction; for reasons of cost and efficiency successive reforms have aimed at reducing the number of cases that are sent to the Crown Court. To shed light on this process, this book examines the dynamics of the mode of trial decision. It does so via a theoretical framework that explores different influences upon social interaction; psychobiography, the courtroom setting, the dynamics of interaction and wider social structures that frame behaviour. This is conducted through an examination of the narrative (re)production practices of courtroom professionals. The findings suggest that legal considerations dominate the mode of trial process; however, where discretion remains, sociological influences can be ascertained as impacting upon behaviour. Also, the legal narratives (re)produced in the courtroom speak to the nature of law. Law translates stories into narratives that are appropriate for the legal process. As a result, the voices of the participants are lost. This book will be of interest to students, academics and professionals with an interest in criminal justice or narrative analysis.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Cammiss, LLB, LLM, PhD: Lecturer in Law at the University of Leicester.

Edition details

• Publisher: VDM Verlag
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3639201752
• ISBN 13: 9783639201758
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208