Why did Enlightenment happen in Edinburgh?

"For many criminal lawyers in Scotland the daily problems are not matters of first principals of criminal law but often practical problems associated with criminal procedure. That is what makes the updated 7th edition of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 such an essential title. Shiels and Bradley provide a full copy of the Act with section-by-section commentary."--BOOK JACKET.

A course on the Scottish legal system is a compulsory part of undergraduate degrees in Scots Law. The Scottish Legal System sets out to present the 'legal system and law of Scotland as a unique and constantly changing human enterprise' and places the Scottish legal system in its broader political and social contexts. This is achieved by covering not only the central aspects of the system, such as the courts and the legal profession, but also the border areas with constitutional law and jurisprudence. This new sixth edition includes new case law on devolution and human rights issues in Scotland. This well established text provides an up-to-date treatment of all significant developments affecting the Scottish legal system.

How do judges sentence? In particular, how important is judicial discretion in sentencing? Sentencing guidelines are often said to promote consistency, but is consistency in sentencing achievable or even desirable? Whilst the passing of a sentence is arguably the most public stage of the criminal justice process, there have been few attempts to examine judicial perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the sentencing process. Through interviews with Scottish judges and by presenting a comprehensive review and analysis of recent scholarship on sentencing – including a comparative study of UK, Irish and Commonwealth sentencing jurisprudence – this book explores these issues to present a systematic theory of sentencing. Through an integration of the concept of equity as particularised justice, the Aristotelian concept of phronesis (or 'practical wisdom'), the concept of value pluralism, and the focus of appellate courts throughout the Commonwealth on sentencing by way of 'instinctive synthesis', it is argued that judicial sentencing methodology is best viewed in terms of a phronetic synthesis of the relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case. The author concludes that sentencing is best conceptualised as a form of case-orientated, concrete and intuitive decision making; one that seeks individualisation through judicial recognition of the profoundly contextualised nature of the process.

In 1994 the Home Secretary made a reference to the Law Commission in the following terms: to consider the law of England and Wales relating to heresay evidence and evidence of previous misconduct in criminal proceedings; and to make appropriate recommendations, including, if they appear to be necessary in consequence of changes proposed to the law of evidence, changes to the trial process. This paper addresses this reference in three main sections: an account of the present law on the admissibility of bad character evidence; an attempt to identify the principles on which the law in this area should be based; and an examination of a number of options for reform, some of which are provisionally proposed.