1 INTRODUCTION 1
Law and the process of conviction 1
Law, the state and dominant ideology 7
Methods and data 9
The structure of the book 10
2 CONVINCING THE COURT： THE STRUCTURE OF LEGAL PROOF 11
The concept of proof 12
The form of proof 16
3 POLICE POWERS AND THE PRODUCTION OF EVIDENCE 26
Processing marginal offences 28
Arrest 36
Helping the police with their inquiries 43
Voluntary statements 48
A right to silence? 53
Controls 59
4 PLEADING GUILTY 70
Neutral bureaucrats? 71
Legal structure and guilty plea 73
5 STRONG AND WEAK CASES： THE TRIAL IN CONTEXT 79
Knowing the issues 82
Collecting evidence 85
Power over witnesses 90
6 STANDING TRIAL： PROSECUTOR’S DUTIES,DEFENDANT’S RIGHTS? 102
The burden of proof and the right to silence 103
The defendant’s character 111
Proving guilt 114
7 TWO TIERS OF JUSTICE 123
Self-defence 124
Summary courts and the ideology of justice 138
State struggles and the two tiers of justice 140
The ideology of triviality 143
Legal relevance 147
The accomplishments 152
8 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 154
Understanding law enforcement 154
Rhetoric and law： why the gap? 157
Managing the ideological gap 159
The case law form and the rule of law 162
Notes 169
References 173
Index of Cases 177
Index of Statutes 180
Author Index 181