header-logo header-logo

Book Reviews

31 January 2008 / John Cooper KC
Issue: 7306 / Categories: Features
printer mail-detail

witness testimony:PSYCHOLOGICAL, INVESTIGATIVE AND EVIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
Edited by Anthony Heaton-Armstrong, Eric Shepherd, Gisli Gudjonsson and David Wolchover / Oxford University Press /
RRP £49.95 / 496 pages

The role of the criminal justice system must be to find the truth. Quite what that “truth” means has and continues to be the subject of much debate. Some confuse truth with proof.  An analysis of the law of evidence only takes us as far as establishing how much can be proven, but proof does not always equate to truth. A person will be acquitted if the prosecution has failed to prove the case but it does not follow that that acquittal contains within it the truth of what happened.

This book, edited by a team of eminent people in their fields, develops a unique analysis of the way our adversarial system works and guides the reader through a series of closely argued sections designed to produce clear, cogent, accurate and reliable evidence.

Beginning with psychological perspectives, a series of writers, principally the respected Gisli Gudjonsson, deal with

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
back-to-top-scroll