The law of evidence / by I.H. Dennis.

Previous ed.: 2002.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

An introduction to the law of evidence. The aims of the law of evidence. Relevance and admissibility. Facts and fact-finding. The privilege against self-incrimination and the right to silence. Confessions. Identification evidence. Evidence obtained by illegal or unfair means. Disclosure and immunity. Legal profession privilege. Burden and standard of proof. Forms of proof and alternatives to proof. Witnesses. Examination of witnesses. Vulnerable and suspect witnesses. The scope and rationale of the hearsay rule. The hearsay rule: Exceptions and reforms. Evidence of character and other misconduct. Cross-examination of the accused. Opinion and expert evidence.

This book analyses the law of evidence in a contextual setting; and offers and goes beyond an integrated approach to evidence, which includes essential doctrinal analysis. It takes account of evidence theory, psychological research on information processing and retrieval, socio-legal work on police investigations, and jury research projects. It is presented in a logical structure following on, from the introduction of the basic concepts through to the exclusionary rules of the law of evidence. It examines the recasting of the regime for obtaining identification evidence in the PACE Code of Practice; and reviews changes to the law bought about by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which has recast the law on hearsay and character evidence, and changed laws on disclosure and the examination of witnesses.