Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1970
Publication Information
21 Syracuse L. Rev. 1061 (1969-1970)
Abstract
This article will lay side by side the major structures of the English and American criminal law procedures and will attempt to draw some conclusions helpful to strengthening American technique. Such a comparison is relevant at this time because of the mounting concern of the American people with the problem of crime and the particular feeling that, in some mysterious way, our courts or the men who man them have not properly responded to the cruel waves of lawlessness which engulf us. In other quarters, there is a feeling that the police are either inept or inadequate to the challenge of organized crime and to the breakdown of law and order in our society.
For the sake of order, general comparisons of the criminal law machinery will be made under four major topics: first, The Police; second, Pre-trial Problems; third, The Trial; and fourth, The Appeal. Focusing on each of these four major steps in a criminal prosecution will hopefully enable the comparison to be followed more easily. Within each category, an attempt will be made to sketch briefly the posture of our respective systems of law at this time and, where possible, suggest techniques for strengthening our process.
Recommended Citation
William B. Lawless,
The Machinery of Criminal Justice in England and the United States,
21 Syracuse L. Rev. 1061 (1969-1970).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1022
