The Function of the Judiciary Within the Constitution of the United Kingdom

Many changes have occurred in the legal system over the several decades it has existed. These changes have caused the victim to be the focus point of legal action and the changes have also caused the victim to either be the negative focus point (through blaming the victim for the actions of the criminal) or completely in the background as a “witness” (such as in the case of feudal barons taking over the system). In the following, I plan to explain the background of both the victim justice system and the criminal justice system as well as show what changes have occurred through the development of them both.

John Griffith’s thesis asserted that the English judiciary comprises of judges who as a whole are of ‘a unifying attitude of mind, a political position, to protect and conserve certain values and institutions’. Before the Judicial

This essay will explore how prosecutorial misconduct causes wrongful convictions in both the United States and Australia. This essay will also argue that rehabilitation and compensation should be provided by the state. A major flaw in the criminal justice system not only in the United States but also in Australia, is the failure to set forth a plan for the people who were exonerated to be accepted back into society. The lack of a plan for rehabilitation for the exonerated poses a problem for society since some might find it easier to find a job in prison then in the real world, this process makes it immensely difficult for prisoners to get acclimated back into society. The Australian Law Review Committee is an entity which evaluates and gives

Merit –compare and contrast the role of judges ,lawyers and lay people within the English courts.

Trial by jury can be traced back to the 12th Century and has been an integral part of the criminal justice system since Henry II favoured it over trial by ordeal (Davies, Croall and Tyrer 2010, p.311). Although they are used in both crown court trials and civil cases, the introduction of the Administration of Justice Act 1933 has reduced the use of juries in civil cases significantly (Joyce 2013, p.208). However, they are only used in about one third of cases in the Crown Court (Huxley-Binns and Martin, p.220). Since the 19th Century, the statutory provisions for jury service have been amended and revised considerably resulting in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Throughout this essay I will be firstly discussing who is eligible to sit on a

The courts play a vital role in the criminal justice system. It provides a forum for laws to be upheld and offers victims justice for crimes committed against them (Siegel, et al., 2011). Furthermore, the role of the court is to impose rulings in a way that is fair and unbiased. While it may be challenging, judges must strive to be impartial and reach decisions based on what the law stipulates. They must also fulfill their role in the criminal justice system by issuing rulings despite the weight of public opinion.

For this criteria I will be producing a written evaluation of the effectiveness of magistrates and juries in the administration of justice in the English legal system.

It is not without questionable doubt that the United States judiciary branch is in need of a major political reform in terms of the injustice that has become so common within the system. The main purpose of the judicial system is to rightfully resolve disagreements according to law. In 1988, Ronald Kitchen was wrongfully convicted for committing five murders, after serving nearly 21 years in prison in which 13 of them on death row he was released. There was an insufficient amount of evidence against him, however, it was the tortures that he endured for almost two days that coerced false confessions from Kitchen to pleading guilty to the murders. The justice system has lost its true purpose of finding justice for whoever is truly at fault. Instead of truth-seeking, court cases have become more about self-interest and winning. Majority of cases do not even reach trial, before then the guilty are let go free or let off easy while the innocent take guilty pleas in fear of risking loosing at trial. Today’s trials just involve two sides in continuous debate that end in the hope for the judge and jury to be able to emerge the truth. Modern judiciary branch has become so accustomed to the idea that court is a neutral course and the judges

This paper will cover topics such as; what a court is and what the purpose of the court is. This paper will define the dual court system. In addition this paper will describe the role that early legal codes, the common law and the precedent played in the development of courts. And lastly this paper will identify the role of the courts in the criminal justice system today.

The United States system of criminal justice actually goes far beyond the beginnings of American government. The system is based on the English system, and the same is followed by governments around the world. This paper deals with the appeals process, how it fits into the criminal justice system, what can be done to improve the system, and follows an actual case through the US system.

One of the success of the Humans Rights Act is that, the judges have developed new principles of public law. For example, ‘proportionality’ principle for deciding matters of judicial review in R v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2001); and ruling that the home secretary,

The daily operations of the criminal courts are designed to ensure that the rights of the people are upheld. This is done through various rules and procedures, for example: As the evidence is presented in court and submitted as exhibits the judge will review the case and ensure that the evidence is relevant, collected properly and handled through a chain of custody. This ensures that the evidence is properly acquired and remains untainted, if it is not properly handled or the chain of custody is broken then it is inadmissible and the judge will not allow it in court. For any reason if these procedures and rules are not followed then the defendant may appeal the case claiming that their rights were violated. If this is

The highest rank court is the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights. Below this, yet the highest and most powerful ranked in the United Kingdom, is the House of Lords also recognised as the Supreme Courts since 2009. The decisions of this court are binding on all other courts lower in the hierarchy. Prior to 1966 the House of Lords were too bound by their own decisions to help ensure certainty unless it was seen to be made ‘per incurium’ (by error). This meant the House of Lords could not overrule a previous decision even if it was socially outdated. This was illustrated in London Tramways v London CC where it was held certainty of the law was more important than individual hardship . However, the introduction of the Practice Statement 1966 gave the House of Lords flexibility to amend a law if it is ‘right to do so’. In the appeal documents a material change of circumstances usually has to be shown. The Practice Statement (HL: Judicial Precedent) [1966] 1 W.L.R.1234, per Lord Gardiner, argued for and against a rigid system of binding precedent and highlighted that even though certainty is of importance within the making of Laws, to follow past precedents blindly will lead to injustice. The House of Lords freed itself from a self-imposed restraint by exercising its inherent jurisdiction as a court to change its own practice.

“It’s a general problem not specific to the law of the United Kingdom a criminal justice system characterized by an emphasis on crime control rather than due process will inevitably produce miscarriage of justice.”

Magistrates are considered the backbone of the criminal Justice system dealing with over 95% of all criminal cases in England and Wales (The Judicial Office, 2014a) That idea appears to be supported by their varied role and hearing over 1.5 to 2 million criminal cases each year which go through the Magistrates’ Courts (Ministry of Justice, 2012). However there are many criticisms of their use in the criminal justice system which will be examined further to determine the value of their role.