The Privilege Against Self Incrimination

Helmholz, R.H.; Gray, Charles M. (Professor of History Emeritus, University of Chicago, USA); Langbein, John H. (Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and

ISBN 10: 0226326608 / ISBN 13: 9780226326603

Published by The University of Chicago Press, 1997

About this Item

This is a history of the privilege in law against self-incrimination, demonstrating that what is sometimes considered an unchanging tenet of the legal system has actually encompassed many different legal consequences. The book seeks to uncover what the privilege meant in practice. Num Pages: 320 pages. BIC Classification: 1KBB; LAFC; LNAA; LND; LNF. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 233 x 158 x 26. Weight in Grams: 560. . 1997. 1st Edition. Hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780226326603

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Privilege Against Self Incrimination
• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226326608
• ISBN 13: 9780226326603
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Challenging the accounts of John Henry Wigmore and Leonard W. Levy, this history of the privilege against self-incrimination demonstrates that what has sometimes been taken to be an unchanging tenet of our legal system has actually encompassed many different legal consequences in a history that reaches back to the Middle Ages.

Each chapter of this definitive study uncovers what the privilege meant in practice. The authors trace the privilege from its origins in the medieval period to its first appearance in English common law, and from its translation to the American colonies to its development into an effective protection for criminal defendants in the nineteenth century. The authors show that the modern privilege—the right to remain silent—is far from being a basic civil liberty. Rather, it has evolved through halting and controversial steps. The book also questions how well an expansive notion of the privilege accords with commonly accepted principles of morality.

This book constitutes a major revision of our understanding of an important aspect of both criminal and constitutional law.

About the Authors

Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676), lawyer and jurist, retired as lord chief justice of England. Charles M. Gray is professor emeritus of history at the University of Chicago, the author or coauthor of several books, and a former coeditor of the Journal of Modern History.


John H. Langbein is the Sterling Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale University. He is the editor or author of several books, including, most recently, The Origins of Adversary Criminal Trial.