Truth, Error, and Criminal Law: An Essay in Legal Epistemology Contributor(s): Laudan, Larry (Author) |
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ISBN: 0521861667 ISBN-13: 9780521861663 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $114.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2006 Annotation: Beginning with the premise that the principal function of a criminal trial is to find out the truth about a crime, Larry Laudan examines the rules of evidence and procedure that would be appropriate if the discovery of the truth were, as higher courts routinely claim, the overriding aim of the criminal justice system. Laudan mounts a systematic critique of existing rules and procedures that are obstacles to that quest. He also examines issues of error distribution by offering the first integrated analysis of the various mechanisms - the standard of proof, the benefit of the doubt, the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof - for implementing society??'s view about the relative importance of the errors that can occur in a trial. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Law | Jurisprudence - Law | Criminal Law - General |
Dewey: 345.05 |
LCCN: 2005027573 |
Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law |
Physical Information: 0.91" H x 6.4" W x 9.01" (1.08 lbs) 256 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: This book treats problems in the epistemology of the law. Beginning with the premise that the principal function of a criminal trial is to find out the truth about a crime, Larry Laudan examines the rules of evidence and procedure that would be appropriate if the discovery of the truth were, as higher courts routinely claim, the overriding aim of the criminal justice system. Laudan mounts a systematic critique of existing rules and procedures that are obstacles to that quest. He also examines issues of error distribution by offering the first integrated analysis of the various mechanisms--the standard of proof, the benefit of the doubt, the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof--for implementing society's view about the relative importance of the errors that can occur in a trial. |
Contributor Bio(s): Laudan, Larry: - Larry Laudan is Principal Investigator at the Instituto de Investigaciones Filosoficas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and president-elect of the Peirce Society. He is the author of many books, most recently Beyond Positisms and Relativism, and The Book of Risks. |