The Criminal Justice System and Miscarriages of Justice in England and Wales

Abstract

This book examines the ways in which justice miscarries in the criminal justice process in England and Wales. The inquiry carries us through the various stages of the criminal justice process, beginning with the police constable’s first contact with a ‘suspect’ on the street, on through to a possible arrest, trial and resolution of a case, including appeal (if initiated) following a conviction. We examine the recommendations of the 1993 Royal Commission on Criminal Justice and the wave of legislation that followed it. Critical evaluation of these, together with research findings on the functioning of the criminal process,1 leads us to conclude that the occurrence of miscarriages of justice will continue, but the chances of detecting them will diminish. As the due process protections for suspects and defendants are systematically weakened, the very notion of injustice is redefined.