Truth Error and Criminal Law

This book treats problems in the epistemology of the law. Beginning with the premise that the principal function of a criminal trial is to find out the truth about a crime Larry Laudan examines the rules of evidence and procedure that would be appropriate if the discovery of the truth were as higher courts routinely claim the overriding aim of the criminal justice system. Laudan mounts a systematic critique of existing rules and procedures that are obstacles to that quest. He also examines issues of error distribution by offering the first integrated analysis of the various mechanismsthe standard of proof the benefit of the doubt the presumption of innocence and the burden of prooffor implementing societys view about the relative importance of the errors that can occur in a trial.