Entanglements of Life with the Law: Precarity and Justice in London’s Magistrates’ Courts
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| Title: | Entanglements of Life with the Law: Precarity and Justice in London’s Magistrates’ Courts |
|---|---|
| Description: | This book examines the quality and nature of justice dispensed in London's magistrates'courts which are the lowest level of the United Kingdom's Criminal Justice System. In 2016, approximately 230,000 individuals were prosecuted for a criminal offence in these courts, of whom about seventy percent pleaded guilty and were sentenced. Curiously, about eighty-five percent of those who pleaded ‘not guilty'were subsequently tried, found guilty and sentenced. This book addresses a central paradox of criminal justice: how is it that magistrates are able to reach a guilty verdict despite the elusive and complex nature of ‘truth'and reality?Research, together with observations of 238 remand hearings and 23 trials has led the author to arrive at some uncomfortable conclusions about a legal system undermined by government austerity policies and lacking in transparency. This book shows that the police fail to investigate most offences, that the Crown Prosecution Service is reliant on the cases which the police want prosecuted, that the quality of legal representation is poor, that magistrates'decisions may be unjust, and that most defendants are not able to understand or participate in their hearing. Strikingly, a large percentage of defendants are from London's ‘precariat'. They are young men who are destitute or who rely on unstable incomes; they are semi-literate, from Black and Ethnic Minority Communities, and their basic rights as citizens are being eroded. Because many are repeat offenders, they are recycled through the Criminal Justice System with limited assistance to address the problems which cause offending. Magistrates'courts dispense ‘summary justice'in very short hearings which means that defendants have a limited opportunity to defend themselves. In short, summary justice lacks basic due process rights in a legal process which bears a striking resemblance to ‘justice'in authoritarian, non-democratic societies. |
| Authors: | John R. Campbell, Author |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | Police magistrates--England--London, Criminal procedure--Social aspects--England--London, Criminal justice, Administration of--Social aspects--England--London |
| Categories: | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology, LAW / Criminal Law / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| FullText | Links: – Type: ebook-pdf Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: nlebk DbLabel: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) An: 2678742 RelevancyScore: 1097 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: eBook PubTypeId: ebook PreciseRelevancyScore: 1096.64697265625 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Entanglements of Life with the Law: Precarity and Justice in London’s Magistrates’ Courts – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: This book examines the quality and nature of justice dispensed in London's magistrates'courts which are the lowest level of the United Kingdom's Criminal Justice System. In 2016, approximately 230,000 individuals were prosecuted for a criminal offence in these courts, of whom about seventy percent pleaded guilty and were sentenced. Curiously, about eighty-five percent of those who pleaded ‘not guilty'were subsequently tried, found guilty and sentenced. This book addresses a central paradox of criminal justice: how is it that magistrates are able to reach a guilty verdict despite the elusive and complex nature of ‘truth'and reality?Research, together with observations of 238 remand hearings and 23 trials has led the author to arrive at some uncomfortable conclusions about a legal system undermined by government austerity policies and lacking in transparency. This book shows that the police fail to investigate most offences, that the Crown Prosecution Service is reliant on the cases which the police want prosecuted, that the quality of legal representation is poor, that magistrates'decisions may be unjust, and that most defendants are not able to understand or participate in their hearing. Strikingly, a large percentage of defendants are from London's ‘precariat'. They are young men who are destitute or who rely on unstable incomes; they are semi-literate, from Black and Ethnic Minority Communities, and their basic rights as citizens are being eroded. Because many are repeat offenders, they are recycled through the Criminal Justice System with limited assistance to address the problems which cause offending. Magistrates'courts dispense ‘summary justice'in very short hearings which means that defendants have a limited opportunity to defend themselves. In short, summary justice lacks basic due process rights in a legal process which bears a striking resemblance to ‘justice'in authoritarian, non-democratic societies. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22John+R%2E+Campbell%2C+Author%22">John R. Campbell, Author</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Police+magistrates--England--London%22">Police magistrates--England--London</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criminal+procedure--Social+aspects--England--London%22">Criminal procedure--Social aspects--England--London</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criminal+justice%2C+Administration+of--Social+aspects--England--London%22">Criminal justice, Administration of--Social aspects--England--London</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SOCIAL+SCIENCE+%2F+Criminology%22">SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22LAW+%2F+Criminal+Law+%2F+General%22">LAW / Criminal Law / General</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SOCIAL+SCIENCE+%2F+Anthropology+%2F+Cultural+%26+Social%22">SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social</searchLink> |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 345.4201209421 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Police magistrates--England--London Type: general – SubjectFull: Criminal procedure--Social aspects--England--London Type: general – SubjectFull: Criminal justice, Administration of--Social aspects--England--London Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Entanglements of Life with the Law: Precarity and Justice in London’s Magistrates’ Courts Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: John R. Campbell, Author – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: John R. Campbell, Author IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2020 – D: 09 M: 02 Type: profile Y: 2021 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9781527559776 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9781527561793 Titles: – TitleFull: Entanglements of Life with the Law: Precarity and Justice in London’s Magistrates’ Courts Type: main |
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