Law and Order Re-examined
| Published date | 01 September 1981 |
| Date | 01 September 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058102800407 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
CONFERENCE MISCELLANY ’
Detailed reports of Conference business and decisions have
appeared or will appear in other places. Here we offer simply
reports of two important and interesting Conference events, a
letter, and some miscellaneous material of lighter kind from
Bridlington.
Law and Order Re-examined
Address to Conference by
Michaei Zander
Professor of Law LSE
Reported for Probation Journal by DAVID SLEIGHTHOLM,
Projects Officer, Ipswich.
Professor Zander set out to examine
quittals are by direction of the Judge;
some of the more fashionable ideas
in these cases, the criminal justice sys-
that go under the banner of ’Law and
tem, or the jury system cannot be crit-
Order’. He posed the question: ’To
icised but rather the police and prose-
what extent are these notions likely to
cution
themselves
for bringing the
bring us closer to useful ideas about
cases before the court. A closer exam-
crime?’ There is justifiable concern
ination of Crown Court cases, therefore,
about the increasing problem of crime,
reveals the following statistics:
both in this country and others. This is
about 60% pleaded guilty
true not least of the crimes that cause
about 20% are found guilty
most concern: crimes of violence. We
about 8% are acquitted
have
by direction of
not heard much from the politicians
to assist.
the Judge
about 12% are acquitted by jury
If
The Criminal Justice System
Mark had said that one-eighth of
Crown Court defendants are acquitted
Are too many people acquitted?
by jury, would the banner headlines
Robert Mark is the
have
greatest critic of
resulted?
the criminal justice
If
system, arguing
proof or guilt is to be beyond
that it would be acceptable if it did not
reasonable doubt, it follows, inevitably,
lead
that there will sometimes be
to the acquittal of
insufficient
so many guilty
people. One-half of jury trials end in
evidence to convict somebody thought to
acquittal, and it therefore
be
must be
guilty by everybody concerned.
wrong,
h...
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