In light of ongoing concerns about the treatment of survivors, Rape Trials in England and Wales critically examines court responses to rape and sexual assault. Using new data from an in-depth observational study of rape trials, this book asks why attempts to improve survivor experiences at court have not been fully effective. In doing so, Smith identifies deep-rooted barriers to survivor justice and, crucially, introduces potential avenues for more effective reform. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the practicalities of court, use of rape myths and sexual history evidence, underlying principles of adversarial justice and the impact of inequalities embedded within English and Welsh legal culture. This engaging and highly significant study is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the criminal courts and their responses to rape, including practitioners and students of criminology, sociology, and law.

Sexual Violence on Trial provides a contemporary critical examination of the investigation, prosecution and cultural contexts of sexual violence. It draws on Northern Ireland as a case study, while also drawing on experiences from other jurisdictions across the United Kingdom and island of Ireland. Public and academic debates concerning the high-profile ‘Belfast/Rugby Rape Trial’ and the subsequent Gillen review of the arrangements to deliver justice in serious sexual offence cases have been mirrored at a global level with movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp. This book brings together the perspectives of practitioners and academics to discuss contemporary challenges surrounding the societal and legal framing of sexual violence. It examines key aspects of the criminal justice process including the challenges of supporting victims; of responding to a range of forms of sexual violence such as rape, peer abuse, intimate partner violence and forced-to-penetrate cases; as well as alternative perspectives and future reforms. It also considers broader debates including balancing the interests of victims and defendants; the impact of cultural myths and stereotypes; the challenges of the digital age; models of consent; legal representation for victims and anonymity and publicity surrounding trials. Written by leading authorities in the field, Sexual Violence on Trial will be of great interest to students and scholars of Criminology, Law and Sociology.

This work examines the ways in which the criminal justice system deals with rape and its after-effects in the victim (PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder). Considerable coverage is given to research findings in the United States, findings of the police themselves and other investigations.

This collection explores a variety of issues facing contemporary juries, bringing together innovative research from different disciplines and jurisdictions. The debate stems from a real concern that criticism of the jury may lead to a loss of public confidence in the institution and that this may renew government efforts to further restrict the role of the jury in criminal proceedings in England and Wales. This work offers an interdisciplinary approach presenting insights from legal, psychological and criminological perspectives, thus bypassing traditional borders and presenting a cohesive view. Issues discussed reflect the rapid advances in technology, changing dynamics and behaviours in society, and challenges that have been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst the focus is primarily on juries in England, Wales, Scotland and across Ireland in terms of challenges and opportunities, the collection also invites a comparative perspective, drawing on experiences and related research in other jurisdictions. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of criminal law and procedure, criminal justice, criminology and psychology.

This book provides an in-depth examination of current, high-profile debates about the use of sexual history evidence in rape trials and its impact on jurors. In doing so, it presents findings of the first mock jury dataset in England and Wales to explore how jurors interpret, discuss, and rely upon such evidence within their deliberations. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative insights from the 18 mock jury panels, the book highlights the complex, nuanced and intersectional impact of sexual history evidence within the deliberative ideal. Indeed, findings exemplified routine and ongoing prejudicial framings of sexual history amongst jurors, and frequent endorsement of rape myths that served to mistakenly infer relevance and undermine the perceived credibility of the complainant. The findings discussed within this book are therefore key to addressing the current knowledge gap around the impact of sexual history evidence and are embedded within broader discussions about evidential legitimacy in rape trials. The book draws on good practice observed in other jurisdictions to makes numerous recommendations for change. Aiming to inform academic, policy, and legislative discussions in this area, Sexual History Evidence in Rape Trials will be of great interest to students and scholars of Criminal Law and Criminology, as well as policy makers and legal practitioners. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylor francis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Volume II of The Official History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales traces, for the first time, the genesis and early evolution of two principal institutions in the criminal justice system, the Crown Court and the Crown Prosecution Service. This volume examines the origins and shaping of two critical institutions: the Crown Court, which rose from the ashes of the Courts of Assize and Quarter Sessions; and the Crown Prosecution Service which replaced a rather haphazard system of police prosecuting solicitors. The 1971 Courts Act and the 1985 Prosecution of Offences Act were to reconfigure the architecture of criminal justice, transforming the procedures by which people were charged, prosecuted and, in the weightier cases demanding a judge and jury, tried in the criminal courts of England and Wales. One stemmed from a crisis in a medieval system of travelling justices that tried people in the wrong places and for inadequate lengths of time. The other was precipitated by a scandal in which three men were wrongly convicted for the murder of a bisexual prostitute. Theirs is an as yet untold history that can be explored in depth because it is recent enough, in the words of Harold Wilson, to have been ‘written while the official records could still be supplemented by reference to the personal recollections of the public men who were involved’. This book will be of much interest to students of criminology and British history, politics and law.