scholarly journals Why Do Criminal Trials ‘Crack’? An Empirical Investigation of Late Guilty Pleas in Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Kwok-yin CHENG ◽  
Wing Hong CHUI ◽  
Simon N M YOUNG ◽  
Rebecca ONG
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Societal Problem ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process

Abstract‘Cracked trials’, where defendants enter a late guilty plea after a trial date has been set, are considered a societal problem because public resources set aside for trials are wasted. Various government reports attribute the main cause to tactical defendants playing the system, and reforms have been initiated to encourage early guilty pleas and strongly discourage late ones. The aim of the present study is to investigate the reasons for cracked trials in the Hong Kong context, insofar as the reasons for late guilty pleas can be investigated without the influence of reforms seen in other jurisdictions used to discourage late pleas. A mixed methods approach of courtroom observations and interviews with defendants was adopted. We find that defendants who were represented by publicly-funded lawyers or who were in prolonged pre-trial detention were more disposed to changing their pleas. Subsequent interviews illustrate why these factors are salient. The findings support the notion that it is the pressures of the criminal justice process that lead defendants to ‘crack’ and highlight the costs to defendants for decisions on how to plead that are influenced by considerations other than actual culpability.

scholarly journals Putting Coercive Control into Practice: Problems and Possibilities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Barlow ◽  
Kelly Johnson ◽  
Sandra Walklate ◽  
Les Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
Coercive Control ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Patterns Of Abuse ◽  
And Training

Abstract There is growing international interest in translating Stark’s concept of coercive control into criminal justice policy and practice. In December 2015 an offence of coercive control was introduced in England and Wales. This paper offers an empirical investigation of the problems and possibilities associated with the translation of this offence into practice in one police force area in England. The findings offer some scope for optimism in response to patterns of abuse, but they also support the view that the current gender-neutral version of the legislation requires revision; there is a need for greater resourcing and training to improve understandings of the nature and impact of coercive control at all points of contact within the criminal justice process and finally, it remains the case that effective responses to domestic abuse need to be genuinely holistic.

The Criminal Process

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Campbell ◽  
Andrew Ashworth ◽  
Mike Redmayne
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Criminal Process ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Law ◽  
Normative Issues ◽  
Area Of Study

The Criminal Process continues to provides a reflective, contextualized consideration of doctrinal, practical, and normative issues in criminal processes and procedures. The text draws on arguments from the law, research, policy, and principle, to present an overview of this area of study. It focuses on England and Wales, with occasional comparative references. The book includes new coverage of contemporary issues, such as the disclosure of evidence in criminal trials and the treatment of victims, and on diversity and discrimination within the criminal justice process. Further reading suggestions and discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter.

Navigating through the effects of ‘Cracked Trials’

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-149
Author(s):  
Kevin Kwok-yin Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Sliding Scale ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process

‘Cracked trials’ have been identified as a major problem in the criminal justice process, causing wastage of resources and time for all parties involved. The sliding scale of sentence discounts was implemented in England and Wales to tackle the problem of ‘cracked trials’ through providing the greatest amount of sentence reduction for earlier guilty pleas and thereby discouraging defendants from entering late guilty pleas. The sliding scale has been recently implemented or is being considered by other common law jurisdictions. This article examines how legal practitioners in Hong Kong have navigated around the adverse effects of cracked trials prior to the implementation of the sliding scale and argues how the sliding scale of sentence discounts is problematic. The findings offer insights regarding strategies and reforms on other aspects of the criminal procedure in responding to late guilty pleas.

All Rise for the Interventionist

2016 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Case Management ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Defence Counsel ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Changing Role

This paper will examine the changing role played by the judiciary in criminal trials. The paper examines the genesis of the adversarial criminal trial that was born out of lifting the prohibition on defence counsel in trials of treason. The paper will chart the rise of judicial passivity as lawyers dominated trials. Finally, the paper examines the rise of the interventionist judiciary in the wake of the Auld Review that launched an attack on the inefficiencies of the modern trial. To tackle the inefficiencies, the Criminal Procedure Rules allowed the judiciary to reassume a role of active case management. The impact an interventionist judiciary has for adversarial criminal justice is examined. The paper finds that a departure from traditional adversarial has occurred; the criminal justice process has shifted to a new form of process, driven by a managerial agenda.

The Agreement of Uncontroversial Evidence and the Presumption of Innocence: An Insoluble Dilemma?

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Duff
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Trial ◽  
Presumption Of Innocence ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Relationship

On 1 April 1996, a rather odd provision was introduced into the Scottish criminal justice process, namely a duty on both prosecution and defence to try to agree uncontroversial evidence in advance of criminal trial.1 As far as the writer is aware, such a provision is unique, although the philosophy underlying its introduction is not totally alien to inquisitorial systems of criminal justice.2 What is particularly peculiar about this duty is that there is no sanction for a failure, however unreasonable, to agree uncontroversial evidence.3 The lack of a sanction resulted from a concern that the creation of any penalty would impinge unjustifiably upon the rights of the accused. The intention in this article is to explore in detail the relationship between the duty to agree uncontroversial evidence and the position of the accused, and to suggest that the imposition of a sanction for a breach of this duty is not as problematic as was thought by those responsible for the legislation.

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