The official history of criminal justice in England and Wales. Volume II: Institution‐building. Paul Rock New York: Routledge. 2020. viii+555pp. £29.59 (pbk) ISBN: 978‐0‐367‐73011‐6
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Author | Coleman A. Dennehy |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12467 |
DOI: 10.1111/ho jo.12465
BOOK REVIEWS
On crime, society and responsibility in the work of Nicola Lacey
Iyiola Solanke
Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2021. 268pp. £80.00 (hbk) ISBN: 9780198852681
On crime, society and responsibility in the work of Nicola Lacey (hereinafter On crime, society and
responsibility) is a pioneering book which contributes significantly to legal scholarship. In being
the first common law Festschrift for a woman, Iyiola Solanke has transformed and modernised
the Festschrift tradition. Bringing together leading scholars whose fields span legal and criminal
theory,psychology and philosophy, Solanke’santhology of essays pays respect to the eminent work
of Nicola Lacey and speaks to the reach of Lacey’s scholarship across academic disciplines.
The book is structured in three parts – each drawing on different aspects of Lacey’s work
on criminal responsibility. The first chapter considers the overarching composition of crimi-
nal responsibility, Chapter 2 focuses on gender and ethics as they relate to criminal responsi-
bility, and the final chapter consists of a political and historical contextualisation of criminal
responsibility.
I approach the work of Nicola Lacey from a feminist, sociologist perspective. Because of this,
and to avoid obfuscating areas of Lacey’s work within which my expertise is not grounded, this
review considers Parts Two and Three of the collection, namely the essays written by Ngaire
Naffine, Hanna Pickard and Emily Jackson. These essays are, in my view, the most captivating in
the collection and best reflect the sociological and feminist lens of Lacey’s work. For those inter-
ested in a comprehensive review of the collection, I recommend reviewing Chaudhary’s recent
paper (Chaudhary, 2021).
Beginning with Section Two of On crime, society and responsibility, Ngaire Naffine’sessay helps
the reader to better understand certain actors within criminal law. Naffine sets out a persua-
sive critique of the theories of criminal law which view the criminal actor as a free-standing and
autonomous individual, devoid of social characteristics or context. Naffine’s essay hinges on how
the English law of rape may present a challenge to this individualist view. Naffine notes that in
the English law of rape ‘men are designated the exclusive class of persons at whom the law is
directed’ (p.68). Therefore, the English law of rape does away with the idea of the abstracted sub-
ject, instead invoking a specific population – men. The main body of the essay involvesan analysis
of legal philosopher John Gardner’s work on the law of rape. Naffine embarks on this analysis in
an attempt to probe what a theorist who takes the abstracted position does when faced with a
population-specific law. Analysing two of Gardner’s texts, The opposite of rape (Gardner, 2018)
and The wrongness of rape (Gardner & Shute, 2000, ch. 10), Naffine exposes the issues in taking
an individualist approach to the law.Naffine rightly insists that when one takes such an approach,
the ways in which the law of rapeis sexed, and historically and culturally located, are entirely lost.
Without diminishing the power of Naffine’s argument, the focus on Gardner’s work is to the
detriment of using Lacey’s work directly. After all, Lacey has long argued that the offence of rape
© 2022 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Howard J. Crim. Justice. 2022;61:117–124. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hojo 117
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting