Rethinking Evidence: Exploratory Essays (Law in Context)

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Serious-title......Page 5
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Dedication......Page 9
Contents......Page 11
Preface......Page 15
Acknowledgements......Page 18
Abbreviations......Page 19
Table of cases......Page 21
1 Introduction The Story of a Project......Page 23
2 Taking Facts Seriously......Page 36
3 The Rationalist Tradition of Evidence Scholarship......Page 57
Anglo–American evidence scholarship: an historical overview......Page 58
Before 1800......Page 59
Gilbert......Page 60
Bentham21......Page 63
Sir W. D. Evans......Page 67
Starkie......Page 71
Wills......Page 72
Best......Page 73
Taylor......Page 75
Burrill and Appleton......Page 76
Stephen......Page 78
Thayer107......Page 83
Wigmore......Page 85
Chamberlayne......Page 87
Moore on Facts......Page 91
After Thayer175......Page 93
The Rationalist Tradition......Page 97
The Rationalist Tradition: a postscript......Page 102
Deviants......Page 103
Ideology......Page 104
The Rationalist model and adversary proceedings......Page 107
Introduction......Page 121
Spurious scepticism and artificial polemics......Page 125
Philosophical scepticism......Page 128
Historical relativism......Page 132
Jerome Frank and legal fact-scepticism......Page 138
The Bridlegoose challenge and the forensic lottery......Page 147
Standpoint and relativism......Page 152
Some strategies of scepticism......Page 156
5 Identification and Misidentification in Legal Processes: Redefining the Problem......Page 187
Two perspectives on law and legal processes......Page 188
Rule-centredness......Page 190
Jury-centredness......Page 191
Court-centredness......Page 192
Optimistic and complacent rationalism......Page 193
The way of the baffled medic: prescribe now, diagnose later – if at all23......Page 195
Two models of misidentification......Page 197
The notion of identity......Page 202
‘Identifying’......Page 203
Identification by what means?......Page 204
The mischiefs of misidentification: who are the victims?......Page 205
Identification for what purposes?......Page 207
Introduction......Page 214
The procedural context......Page 216
Historical trends......Page 222
The Thayerite view of ‘the Law of Evidence’......Page 224
A further gloss on the Thayerite view: freedom of proof as the basic principle......Page 230
Gruyère cheese and the Cheshire Cat: the argument of exaggerated importance......Page 232
One law of evidence?......Page 240
Law for whom?......Page 242
The future of the Law of Evidence......Page 244
Conclusion......Page 248
Introduction......Page 259
Theorizing about IL......Page 260
Taking stock......Page 263
‘The New Evidence Scholarship’ and the need for a mapping theory......Page 266
Constructing a mapping theory: choice of an organizing concept46......Page 270
Litigation: some warnings of complexity......Page 271
Decision......Page 274
Information......Page 275
Legal philosophy......Page 276
Middle order theory......Page 278
Broad perspectives and particular studies: the problem of the division of labour......Page 279
Inter-disciplinary warnings......Page 283
Realism revisited......Page 284
Reasoning in adjudication......Page 293
Questions of law......Page 295
Questions of fact......Page 298
Law and fact......Page 299
Conclusion......Page 300
9 Stories and Argument......Page 302
Introduction......Page 308
A lexicon of advocacy......Page 310
Theory......Page 311
Story......Page 312
Theme......Page 315
Presentation and argument......Page 316
Arguments about questions of law: stating the facts......Page 318
Miller v Jackson......Page 325
Statement of facts......Page 327
Disputed questions of fact: holism and atomism in arguments about evidence......Page 328
Making sense of the case-as-a-whole: law, fact, value and outcome......Page 333
Jurisprudence and narratology......Page 340
11 Narrative and Generalizations in Argumentation about Questions of Fact......Page 354
Generalizations: necessary but dangerous......Page 356
Stories: necessary but dangerous......Page 358
The relationship between stories and generalizations......Page 359
X = X = X......Page 360
The jurist’s tale......Page 366
The Shakespearean’s tale......Page 367
The facts......Page 368
Clarification of standpoint......Page 371
Framing the ultimate probanda......Page 372
Theories of the case as a whole......Page 374
Four theories of the case......Page 375
Sub-theories, sub-plots, and characters......Page 378
Macroscopic analysis: a preliminary stock-taking......Page 380
Microscopic analysis: premeditation......Page 381
Conclusion......Page 388
Part 2 Edith Thompson: fresh evidence and new perspectives......Page 389
Standpoint......Page 390
The facts in issue: elucidating the question......Page 391
Theories of the case......Page 392
Sub-theories, sub-plots, and characters......Page 393
Microscopic analysis......Page 394
Interpreting the letters......Page 396
Narrative biography and methodology......Page 399
The letters......Page 401
The tearoom and the Marconigram......Page 402
Conclusion......Page 404
Appendix 1......Page 406
Appendix 2......Page 407
Appendix 3......Page 408
Appendix 4......Page 410
Appendix 5......Page 412
13 The Ratio Decidendi of the Parable of the Prodigal Son......Page 419
Cases and parables as texts......Page 421
The ratio of a case and ‘the point’ of a parable......Page 424
Interpretation, standpoint, the power of the particular, and conditions of doubt......Page 426
The ratio decidendi of the parable......Page 430
Lessons......Page 432
Appendix......Page 433
Introduction......Page 439
The subject of evidence deserves a more central place in the discipline of law......Page 440
EPF is a good vehicle for developing some basic transferable intellectual skills......Page 441
Teaching evidence at first degree level: a suggested framework......Page 442
Evidence theory is important in providing a coherent framework for the study of evidence in law (EPF)......Page 444
Studying about and learning how......Page 446
The chart method and alternatives......Page 448
Evidence as an emerging multi-disciplinary field: some implications......Page 450
15  Evidence as a multi-disciplinary subject......Page 458
Different conceptions of evidence......Page 460
A substance-blind approach to inferential reasoning......Page 463
Inference, culture, common sense, and narrative......Page 465
Limitations of law......Page 468
An integrated ‘science of evidence’?......Page 470
Bibliography......Page 479
Index......Page 515