Recent Book: Juries: Trial by Jury
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6704000115 |
| Date | 01 January 1967 |
| Author | Frank Elmes |
| Published date | 01 January 1967 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
ings and concludes that they
are
in
effect usually no more
than
a pub-
lic statement, recorded before a
magistrate,
but
uncontradicted by
the accused, of the strength of the
prosecution's case.
If
these are the
impressions foreign readers obtain
from the book it is very unfortun-
ate. Quite
apart
from the inaccur-
acy of the generalization, who stops
the accused giving his
version-and
disclosing his
defence-if
he so de-
sires?
Another contributor on pre-trial
procedure in England is Mr. S. Pre-
vezer who may be very well known
in some criminal courts,
but
I have
not
had
the opportunity of observ-
ing his performances.
He
also is
critical of the police. His contribu-
tion is mainly based on a criminal
case in which he was involved pro-
fessionally
and
which he says
proved the converse of the old say-
ing:
"Learning
teaeheth more in
one year
than
experience in
twenty ".
His main complaint against the
police is the length
of
time it
took
them to investigate what I imagine
was a complicated alleged oompany
fraud before charges were preferred.
It
is suggested the accused suffered
hardship and embarrassment as a
result of the delay. However
that
may be, I should very much like to
hear
the
other side of this.
Like Professor Coutts, Mr. Pre-
vezer also introduces the subject of
confessions. His views on the
Judges Rules are very sensible in-
deed, and he even goes so far as to
say
that
the efforts
of
the police
should not be hamstrung by un-
necessarily restrictive legal require-
ments. But then comes the bite,
when he says:
"One
would feel
happier about the new rules if one
had
more
confidence in the police,
and if there were
an
appellate
authority, independent
of
the courts
and the police, to provide additional
protection against their abuse ".
The
other English writers
(A.
R.
N. Cross and D. A. Thomas) merely
give recitals
of
trial and post-trial
procedures which police recruits
know
more
or
less by
heart-at
least all it is necessary for them to
know. This is why I say the book
is not
of
value to a policeman but,
I repeat, it is of interest if only for
the reasons I have tried to indicate.
Its interest is
not
only for a know-
ledge
of
other
procedures,
but
also
as a study of impressions other
countries
are
likely to get
of
a Ser-
vice which has been the envy
of
the
world; unfortunately
that
Service
has little opportunity
of
replying to
innuendos such as I have quoted.
But, on
the
other
hand, for my
money
the
book
is worth reading if
only for the contribution
of
the
Hon. Lord Kilbrandon on Scottish
procedure.
It
is first-class. Of those
who practise the profession of law,
he says:
"It
may be put as simply
as this, 'that we lawyers
are
con-
cerned with no aspect
of
crime ex-
cept the prevention of it,
and
even
that in the limited sense of dissaud-
ing
the
convicted
man
from offend-
ing again, and persuading those who
may be tempted to crime
that
it will
not be worth their while",
I wish there were more lawyers
and writers with similar views.
T.L.
JURIES
LORD
DEVLIN:
Trial by Jury. The Hamlyn Lectures, 8th Series. University
Paperbacks. 12s. 6d.
Juries are in the news. Happy is enough to write about, but it cer-
the publisher with such a felicitous tainly seems to be true that no-one
sense of timing as to bring this third has written a whole book on Eng-
impression of Lord Devlin's Ham- lish juries since 1852. Lord Devlin's
Iyn Trust lectures, given in 1956, on scholarship and eminently readable
to the market at this particular time, prose have thus filled a real
gap
in
just as changes in the jury system are legal literature.
under active consideration. Surpris- Readers, with knowledge of the
ingly the author is able to state in a law reforms in train, will wish to
note "So far as I know there is no know what Lord Devlin's views are
up-to-date English book on trial by on majority verdicts. To reveal all
jurv
". This does not mean
that
on this vital point would smack of
no-one has found juries interesting the critic who tells the world who
46 January 1967
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