A Philosophy of Evidence Law: Justice in the Search for Truth (Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice)

The dominant approach to evaluating the law on evidence and proof focuses on how the trial system should be structured to guard against error. This book argues instead that complex and intertwining moral and epistemic considerations come into view when departing from the standpoint of a detached observer and taking the perspective of the person responsible for making findings of fact. Ho contends that it is only by exploring the nature and content of deliberative responsibility that the role and purpose of much of the law can be fully understood. In many cases, values other than truth have to be respected, not simply as side-constraints, but as values which are internal to the nature and purpose of the trial. A party does not merely have a right that the substantive law be correctly applied to objectively true findings of fact, and a right to have the case tried under rationally structured rules. The party has, more broadly, a right to a just verdict, where justice must be understood to incorporate a moral evaluation of the process which led to the outcome. Ho argues that there is an important sense in which truth and justice are not opposing considerations; rather, principles of one kind reinforce demands of the other. This book argues that the court must not only find the truth to do justice, it must do justice in finding the truth. "The dominant approach to evaluating the law on evidence and proof focuses on how the trial system should be structured to guard against error. This book argues instead that complex and intertwining moral and epistemic considerations come into view when departing from the standpoint of a detached observer and taking the perspective of the person responsible for making findings of fact." "Ho contends that it is only by exploring the nature and content of deliberative responsibility that the role and purpose of much of the law can be fully understood. In many cases, values other than truth have to be respected, not simply as side-constraints, but as values which are internal to the nature and purpose of the trial. A party does not merely have a right that the substantive law be correctly applied to objectively true findings of fact, and a right to have the case tried under rationally structured rules. The party has, more broadly, a right to a just verdict, where justice must be understood to incorporate a moral evaluation of the process which led to the outcome. Ho argues that there is an important sense in which truth and justice are not opposing considerations; but rather, principles of one kind reinforce demands of the other." "This book argues that the court must not only find the truth to do justice, it must do justice in finding the truth."--Jacket Contents 1. Fact-Finding Introduction 1 Fact and Fact-Finding 2 Fact-Finding: A Speech Act Analysis 3 Fact-Finding: The Deliberative Aspect 4 Fact-Finding: Perspectives Conclusion 2. Truth, Justice, and Justification Introduction 1 The Search for Truth 2 External Analysis 3 Internal Analysis Conclusion 3. Epistemology of Legal Fact-Finding Introduction 1 Epistemic Foundations 2 Belief and Probability 3 Structure of Trial Deliberation Conclusion 4. Standard of Proof Introduction 1 External Analysis 2 Internal Analysis Conclusion 5. Hearsay Introduction 1 External Analysis 2 Internal Analysis Conclusion 6. Similar Fact Evidence Introduction 1 Criminal Cases 2 Civil Cases Conclusion Epilogue Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W This text examines the legal and moral theory behind the law of evidence and proof, arguing that only by exploring the nature of responsibility in fact-finding can the role and purpose of much of the law be fully understood. For the court to find the truth to do justice, it must do justice in finding the truth