Reinventing the Trial: The Innocence Revolution and Proposals to Modify the American Criminal Trial
Texas A & M Law Review, Vol. 3, 2015-2016
72 Pages Posted: 21 Jan 2016
Date Written: January 19, 2016
Abstract
Law review articles by D. Michael Risinger, Tim Bakken, Keith Findley, Samuel Gross, and Christopher Slobogin have proposed modifications to pre-trial and trial procedures designed to reduce wrongful convictions. Some fit within the adversary model and others have “inquisitorial” features. We compare and evaluate the recommendations from the perspectives of lawyer-scholars trained in the United States and Germany. We examine the proposals for their novelty, feasibility, complexity, likely impact, and possible negative or positive side effects. One benefit of the article is simply to gather these innovative proposals in one place and compare them, to provide a platform for further analysis. The analysis will add our views to the discussion and will advocate the serious consideration of truth-enhancing procedural reforms.
Keywords: wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice, criminal procedure, trial, trial reform, comparative criminal procedure, germany, criminal justice, truth
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