The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial

by John H. Langbein

Book Overview

The adversary system of trial, the defining feature of the Anglo-American legal procedure, developed late in English legal history. For centuries defendants were forbidden to have legal counsel, and lawyers seldom appeared for the prosecution either. Trial was meant to be an occasion for the defendant to answer the charges in person.

The transformation from lawyer-free to lawyer-dominated criminal trial happened within the space of about a...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199287236
• ISBN13: 9780199287239
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 378 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.1"