Surveying the discretions exercised by criminal trial courts at both the Crown Court and Magistrates Court level and discretion in the criminal appellate process, this book provides a theoretical framework with which to assess discretions, examines the evidential and procedural discretions whose existence is recorded in cases, statutes, and the reports of law reform bodies, and lists the known principles by which these discretions should be exercised.

This book examines the disclosure and withholding of all forms of confidential information handled by professionals. Fully revised and updated, the new edition examines the numerous recent developments in the law, particularly following revelations by the media of the interception of professional confidences by phone hacking and other means. Its primary focus is on the law of England and Wales, but it includes insights from the secondary literature and case law of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland. This allows it to predict how English courts may fill gaps in the law, and...