The Principles of Criminal Evidence

Book excerpt: Like any procedure for determining the truth about events, the law of criminal evidence has to be evaluated by reference to its structure and its general principles. However, there are three distinct principles governing the practices of the jury system which require that this particular law be treated in a distinct way. This book examines the role played by the lay judgement of jurors, and discusses the judicial practices which have evolved to satisy the following three principles: the desire to discover the truth; the need to protect the innocent from conviction; and the need to maintain adequate standards of propriety in the criminal process. The central feature of the law of criminal evidence is to be found in the courts' continual search for a balance between the competing demands of these three principles.