Three hundred years ago an Englishman charged with, say, robbery could expect to be interrogated by a local magistrate, held in jail until the King's justices next rode in on circuit, arraigned before a jury of local property-owners on an indictment he had never seen, and tried in less than an hour. He would not be allowed legal representation even if he could afford it. He had no right to give sworn evidence in answer to the witnesses who - as the saying was - were swearing away his life. He was allowed to question them as best he could and then tell the jury from the dock why he was innocent. Nobody would tell the jury that he was presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, because that was not the law. There was effectively no appeal. If convicted, he would probably be hanged before the judge rode on to the next assize town.

LRB 25 September 2003 | PDF Download