1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910785141103321

Autore

Scheffer Thomas

Titolo

Adversarial case-making [[electronic resource] ] : an ethnography of English Crown Court procedure / / by Thomas Scheffer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Danvers, MA, : Brill, 2010

ISBN

1-282-78711-X

9786612787119

90-04-18750-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (326 p.)

Collana

International studies in sociology and social anthropology

Disciplina

347.42/05

Soggetti

Criminal courts - Social aspects - England

Criminal procedure - Social aspects - England

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Preliminary Material / T. Scheffer -- I. A Case Of Assault: The Rise And Fall Of An Alibi / T. Scheffer -- II. Framing Law-In-Action / T. Scheffer -- III. A Case Of Indecent Assault: Fitting Sleep-Walking Expertise In / T. Scheffer -- IV. File-Work And Procedural Care / T. Scheffer -- V. A Case Of Wounding With Intent: The Barrister’s Day In Court / T. Scheffer -- VI. Procedural Resources And Procedural Infrastructure / T. Scheffer -- VII. A Case Of Murder: No Regret! / T. Scheffer -- VIII. The Case In The Case-System / T. Scheffer -- Conclusion: The Micro-Foundations Of Adversarialism / T. Scheffer -- References / T. Scheffer -- Index / T. Scheffer.

Sommario/riassunto

Cases are not objects at hand for legal decision-making; cases are not echoes from a past crime. Cases are, first of all, made within compound discourse apparatus, here the English Crown Court and the procedure/s attached to it. This book reveals the legal production of cases including their relevant features. The socio-legal ethnography visits the natural sites of adversarial case-making: law firms, barristers’ chambers, and Crown Courts. It examines the role and dynamics of client-lawyer meetings, pre-trial hearings, plea bargaining sessions, and jury trials. It focuses on the lawyers’ case-making activities, their procedural contexts, and the resulting cases. As an ethnographic discourse study,



the book develops a trans-sequential perspective on the interrelated events and processes of case-making – and by doing so, overcomes the shortcomings of talk-bias and text-bias. The trans-sequential approach pays out in detailed case studies on an alibi, on guilt, or the barrister’s notes; it pays out as well in cross-case studies dealing with legal care, procedural infrastructure, or the case system in the common law tradition.