Citation

Nobles R, Schiff D. Howard J. Crim. Just. 2009; 48(5): 461-471.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Howard League for Penal Reform, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2311.2009.00588.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article describes how the media understand miscarriages of justice, and how that understanding is distinct from the understanding of miscarriages of justice that determine the Court of Appeal's decisions and enable it to reach the conclusion that a conviction is unsafe. It demonstrates how at particular times the media construct a story of a ‘crisis of public confidence’ in the criminal justice system, how such a story is periodic and recurrent, and how attempts to control or reduce the likelihood of such a story being developed tend to be unsuccessful, or even counterproductive.