Traditionally, the English criminal trial consisted of a relatively unstructured altercation between the victim-prosecutor and the accused, who generally appeared without a lawyer. A criminal bar had emerged in London by the 1780s, and in 1836 the Prisoners' Counsel Act recognized the defendant's right to legal counsel in felony trials and lifted many restrictions on the activities of defense lawyers. May explores the role of barristers before and after the Prisoners' Counsel Act. She also details the careers of individual members of the bar--describing their civil practice in local, customary courts as well as their criminal practice--and the promotion of Old Bailey counsel to the bench of that court. A comprehensive biographical appendix augments this discussion.
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Book Description
Allyson May chronicles the history of the English criminal trial and the development of a criminal bar in London between 1750 and 1850. She charts the transformation of the legal process and the evolution of professional standards of conduct for the criminal bar through an examination of the working lives of the Old Bailey barristers of the period. In describing the rise of adversarialism, May uncovers the motivations and interests of prosecutors, defendants, the bench, and the state, as well as the often-maligned "Old Bailey hacks" themselves.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Among the most thoroughly-researched explorations of the relationship between the upper branch of the legal profession and the reforms of the criminal trial to date. . . . Rooted in meticulous research into the diverse working lives of the individuals who made up the London bar, [it gives] readers a sense of the day to day practice at the Old Bailey. . . . A significant contribution."
-- Journal of Social History
"Provides invaluable groundwork for future research into the development of legal ethics and professional discipline."
— Law and History Review
-- Journal of Social History
"Provides invaluable groundwork for future research into the development of legal ethics and professional discipline."
— Law and History Review
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The Bar and the Old Bailey,
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This review is from: The Bar and the Old Bailey, 1750-1850 (Studies in Legal History) (Hardcover)
Dr. Allyson May's "Bar and the Old Bailey" is a major contribution to the history of the legal profession. Well researched, smart, and beautifully expressed, it is a work of enduring importance.
W. Wesley Pue Nathan T. Nemetz Chair in Legal History University of British Columbia
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In 1750 England's great metropolis comprised both the City of London, a medieval creation whose origins can be traced back to a Roman city established on the north bank of the Thames in the second century A.D., and Westminster, which lies two miles west on the river. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
full legal defense, adversarial criminal trial, common pleader, common serjeant, police mag, criminal practitioners, capital convicts, counsel bill, metropolitan practice, criminal bar, felony trials, professional contest, bar mess, adversarial contest, home circuit, prosecuting counsel, defense counsel, prosecution counsel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Bailey, Counsel Act, Central Criminal Court, Charles Phillips, King's Bench, John Silvester, Morning Chronicle, Westminster Hall, Law List, Bow Street, Legal Observer, Court of Aldermen, Peter Alley, Newman Knowlys, John Adolphus, Palace Court, Charles Ewan Law, William Garrow, House of Commons, King's Counsel, Law Times, Bank of England, Court of Common Council, Jerome William Knapp, John Campbell New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In 1750 England's great metropolis comprised both the City of London, a medieval creation whose origins can be traced back to a Roman city established on the north bank of the Thames in the second century A.D., and Westminster, which lies two miles west on the river. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
full legal defense, adversarial criminal trial, common pleader, common serjeant, police mag, criminal practitioners, capital convicts, counsel bill, metropolitan practice, criminal bar, felony trials, professional contest, bar mess, adversarial contest, home circuit, prosecuting counsel, defense counsel, prosecution counsel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Bailey, Counsel Act, Central Criminal Court, Charles Phillips, King's Bench, John Silvester, Morning Chronicle, Westminster Hall, Law List, Bow Street, Legal Observer, Court of Aldermen, Peter Alley, Newman Knowlys, John Adolphus, Palace Court, Charles Ewan Law, William Garrow, House of Commons, King's Counsel, Law Times, Bank of England, Court of Common Council, Jerome William Knapp, John Campbell New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 81
books:
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- Bench and Bar: Reminiscences of One of the Last of an Ancient Race by Benjamin Coulson Robinson on 6 pages
- The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial (Oxford Studies in Modern Legal History) by John H. Langbein on 6 pages
- Professors of the Law: Barristers and English Legal Culture in the Eighteenth Century by David Lemmings in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Twelve Good Men and True: The Criminal Trial Jury in England, 1200-1800 by J. S. Cockburn in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Gentlemen and Barristers: The Inns of Court and the English Bar 1680-1730 (Oxford Historical Monographs) by David Lemmings in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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