Access to Justice in Magistrates’ Courts: A Study of Defendant Marginalisation, 1st Edition eBook

Delivery: Can be download immediately after purchasing. For new customer, we need process for verification from 30 mins to 12 hours.
Version: PDF/EPUB. If you need EPUB and MOBI Version, please contact us.
Compatible Devices: Can be read on any devices.

This book examines access to justice in summary criminal proceedings by considering the ability of defendants to play an active and effective role in the process. ‘Access to justice’ refers not just to the availability of legally aided representation, but also to the ability of defendants to understand and effectively participate in summary criminal proceedings more generally. It remains a vital principle of justice that justice should not only be done, but should also be seen to be done by all participants in the process. The book is based on socio-legal research. The study is ethnographic, based on observation conducted in four magistrates’ courts in South East England and interviews with both defence lawyers and Crown prosecutors. Setting out an argument that defendants have always been marginalised through particular features of magistrates’ court proceedings (such as courtroom layout and patterns of behaviour among the professional workgroups in court), the political climate in relation to defendants and access to justice that has persisted since 2010 has further undermined the ability of defendants to play an active role in the process. Ultimately, this book argues that recent governments have demanded ever more efficiency and cost saving in criminal justice. In that context, principles that contribute to access to justice for defendants have been seriously undermined.

This is a digital product.

Access to Justice in Magistrates’ Courts: A Study of Defendant Marginalisation 1st Edition is written by Lucy Welsh and published by Hart Publishing. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for Access to Justice in Magistrates’ Courts are 9781509937844, 1509937846 and the print ISBNs are 9781509956777, 1509956778. Additional ISBNs for this eTextbook include 9781509937837.