English Legal System in Context

by Cownie, Fiona; Bradney, Anthony; Burton, Mandy

• ISBN13: 9780199289882
• ISBN10: 0199289883
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-07-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

English Legal System in Context provides a critical overview of the legal system, and establishes a sound theoretical framework within which to analyze the system. It discusses the intricacies of the legal system, showing the blurred distinction between the legal and the non-legal, and the authors provide an insightful contextual analysis of the system and its main protagonists. The authors discuss the police and their powers, the role of the CPS, private policing, the work of non-police agencies, and various methods of alternative dispute resolution, As well as the traditional core areas of the English legal system such as the courts, case law, legal professionals, and the civil and criminal proceedings. Students will find the coverage of the legal profession of particular interest; this text is distinctive in its detailed examination of the role of law schools and law students in the development of the legal profession. With a clear, logical structure, and a wealth of references to take the reader further into the subject, this is a perceptive and wide-ranging study that explains and illuminates this fascinating subject.

Author Biography

Fiona Cownie is Professor of Law at the University of Keele. She was formerly HK Bevan Professor of Law at the University of Hull. A former Vice-Chair of the Socio-Legal Studies Association, and Past President of the European Law Faculties Association, she is an expert in legal eduction, and is well known for her work in socio-legal studies. Anthony Bradney is Professor of Law at the University of Keele. He was formerly Professor of Law at the University of Sheffield and the University of Leicester. He is Vice-Chair of the Socio-Legal Studies Association, Executive Committee member of the Society of Legal Scholars, and is editor of the Web Journal of Current Legal Issues. Bradney as published widely in the areas of law and religion, law and popular culture, legal pluralism, and legal education.
Mandy Burton is Lecturer in Law at the University of Leicester. She specialises in criminal justice and family law. She has completed numerous empirical socio-legal studies, including projects commissioned by the Crown Prosecution Service, Department for Constitutional Affairs, and the Home Office.

Table of Contents

What is the 'English legal system'?

The significance of courts

Courts in the 'English legal system'

Tribunals

English legal reasoning - the use of case law

English legal reasoning - reading statutes

The university law school and law students

Solicitors and barristers

Judges and judging

The Civil Court in action

Alternative dispute resolution

Private security and other non-police agencies

The public police - uncovering crime and powers of stop and search

Arrest and detention

Prosecutions

The Magistrates' Court

The Crown Court

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