The Integrity of Criminal Process: From Theory into Practice

Criminal proceedings, it is often now said, ought to be conducted with integrity. But what, exactly, does it mean for criminal process to have, or to lack, 'integrity'? Is integrity in this sense merely an aspirational normative ideal, with possibly diffuse influence on conceptions of professional responsibility? Or is it also a juridical concept with robust institutional purchase and enforceable practical consequences in criminal litigation? The 16 new essays contained in this collection, written by prominent legal scholars and criminologists from Australia, Hong Kong, the UK and the USA, engage systematically with - and seek to generate further debate about - the theoretical and practical significance of `integrity' at all stages of the criminal process. Reflecting the flexibility and scope of a putative `integrity principle', the essays range widely over many of the most hotly contested issues in contemporary criminal justice theory, policy and practice, including: the ethics of police investigations, charging practice and discretionary enforcement; prosecutorial independence, policy and operational decision-making; plea bargaining; the perils of witness coaching and accomplice testimony; expert evidence; doctrines of admissibility and abuse of process; lay participation in criminal adjudication; the role of remorse in criminal trials; the ethics of appellate judgment writing; innocence projects; and state compensation for miscarriages of justice.

Introduction: Re-examining Criminal Process Through the Lens of Integrity Paul Roberts, Jill Hunter, Simon NM Young and David Dixon 1. A Public Law Conception of Integrity in the Criminal Process Simon NM Young 2. Searching for Integrity in Domestic Violence Policing Julie Stubbs 3. Integrity, Interrogation and Criminal Injustice David Dixon 4. Factory Farming and State-Induced Pleas Mike McConville and Luke Marsh 5. Negotiating Justice with Integrity in New South Wales Nicholas Cowdery AM QC 6. The Integrity of Charging Decisions Jeremy Gans 7. Prosecutors Interviewing Witnesses: A Question of Integrity Paul Roberts 8. Integrity, Immunity and Accomplice Witness Testimony Michael I Jackson 9. Expert Evidence and the Responsibilities of Prosecutors Gary Edmond 10. Stays of Prosecution and Remedial Integrity Amanda Whitfort 11. Excluding Integrity? Revisiting Non-Consequentialist Justifications for Excluding Improperly Obtained Evidence in Criminal Trials Peter Chau 12. Unbecoming Jurors and Unreasoned Verdicts: Realising Integrity in the Jury Room John Jackson 13. Remorse and Demeanour in the Courtroom: Cognitive Science and the Evaluation of Contrition Susan A Bandes 14. Rape Law, Past Wrongs and Legal Fictions: Telling Law's Story with Integrity Jill Hunter 15. Against Innocence Charles D Weisselberg 16. Compensating Injustice: The Perils of the Innocence Discourse Carolyn Hoyle