Evidence and the Adversarial Process

Evidence and the Adversarial Process looks closely a the relationship between the adversarial trial, which reflects the ′sporting′ theory of justice, and the Law of Evidence. Born from a distrust of judges, the adversarial trial has created an unwieldy and almost incomprehensible edifice of exclusionary rules and the exceptions to them. The author points out that there it is no coincidence non–adversarial systems of justice have few, if any exclusionary rules. Clearly written and argued this book examines the key issues in the field:

∗ Is the adversarial process best suited to the discovery of truth?.

∗ Do recent reforms indicate the first steps away from the adversarial contest?.

∗ Is English law moving towards new inquisitorial procedures and a closer relationship with the continental model?

The book both reviews the modern law and challenges the traditional assumptions embedded in case law; the theory of the trial is measured against the reality. It will be an invaluable text for students, but also a significant addition to the literature for criminal and defence lawyers by allowing a better assessment of the rules set out in the standard texts and by challenging advocates to look again at the forensic devices, such as cross–examination, which presently claim to uncover the truth in adversarial proceedings.