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Character in the Criminal Trial

Character in the Criminal Trial

Author: Mike Redmayne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199228898
Published In: March 2015
Format: Hardback , 320 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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A comprehensive analysis of the bad character provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003
Explores conceptual, doctrinal, and theoretical issues underlying character evidence
Examines the use of character evidence in determining sentences

If a defendant is on trial for a crime such as burglary, to what extent should the fact that he has a previous conviction for burglary feature in his trial? Should the prosecution be allowed to tell the jury about the previous conviction as evidence that the defendant is more likely to have committed burglary? Should the judge give the defendant a longer sentence because he has a previous conviction? These are the fundamental questions examined in Character in the Criminal Trial.

Including an in-depth analysis of the character evidence provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, this book assesses the arguments for and against using character evidence to prove a defendant's guilt. It explores the sentencing provisions in the same Act, as well as the general use of criminal record and other character evidence to aggravate and mitigate sentence.

Issues examined in the course of the book include: psychological and philosophical debates about the stability of character; criminological research on recidivism and the nature of criminal careers; ethical debates about the use of prior behaviour to prove current or future offending; the process of reasoning underlying the use of bad character evidence; whether bad character evidence is prejudicial; and the use of risk assessment instruments to classify offenders as dangerous. By combining insights from law, psychology, criminology, and philosophy, Redmayne reassesses the use of character in the criminal trial and reflects on the significance of the law's increasing emphasis on character.

Readership: Academics and practitioners in the field of criminal law; scholars in psychology, criminology, and philosophy

Preface and Acknowledgements
1.: Introduction
2.: The Relevance of Character
3.: Character and Prejudice
4.: The Ethics of Character Evidence
5.: Propensity's History: English Law before the Criminal Justice Act 2003
6.: Understanding Propensity Evidence
7.: Propensity Evidence under the Criminal Justice Act 2003
8.: Propensity, Coincidence, and Acquitted Misconduct
9.: Character and Credibility
10.: Good Character
11.: Punishing Character
12.: Dangerous Characters
13,: Conclusion

Mike Redmayne holds a chair in the Law Department at the London School of Economics. He has written widely on criminal evidence and criminal procedure. His previous books include Expert Evidence and Criminal Justice (2001) and, with Andrew Ashworth, The Criminal Process (2010).