Website of the US Bureau of Justice Statistics the government department which collects and analyses information on crime, criminal offenders and the operation of justice. Statistics can be viewed by subject eg. corrections (prisons, capital punishment), courts, crime, costs of crime, law enforcement and victims of crime or by publication. These can be browsed or search and downloaded in full from the site along with data tables.
Fair Trials is an NGO which campaigns for fairness, equality and justice including the right to a fair trial in Europe, Latin America, the UK and the US. The site outlines Fair Trials’ campaigns which include protecting the rights of accused people, the right to counsel, use of pre-trial detention and safeguards for plea bargaining. Free resources on the site include publications, case studies, information, toolkits and legal news which can be searched by issue, region or country.
Portal to Luxembourg judicial information provided by the General Prosecutor's Office. There is an outline of the judicial system with information on the judiciary and the various courts. Practical information is given aimed at people coming into contact with the judicial system covering both criminal and civil issues. There is also guidance on employment law. Full text judgements of the Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation and Administrative Courts can be downloaded from the site. The site can be viewed in French only.
The Advocate’s Gateway (TAG) is an independent organisation, overseen by a management committee of lawyers and other professionals, providing free guidance on communicating with vulnerable witnesses and defendants. The toolkits are aimed at legal practitioners and focus on maintaining ethical and professional standards when questioning vulnerable people in justice settings.
The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina is responsible for conducting investigations into criminal offences under the jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the prosecution of war crimes. Legislation relating to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is available on the website along with a selection of criminal and civil laws. Profiles of the prosecutors, the Chief Prosecutor and the prosecutor's code of ethics are also given. The site can be viewed in English, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian.
The British Polygraph Society is a membership body for accredited polygraph examiners. Its website provides information on polygraph science and its practice. Open access articles concerned with polygraph science are available, along with information on the accuracy and validity of polygraph testing. Information is given on the Society, including its professional code of ethics, standards of practice and constitution. A page of web links is also provided.
This blog is concerned with United States sentencing law and policy and is written by Professor Douglas A. Berman of the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. The blog has been running since 2004 and posts cover issues such as sentencing guidelines, sentencing reform, sentencing data and state sentencing guidelines. There are also posts focusing on specific cases and aspects of policy such as gun policy and sentencing. Previous posts can be browsed by date or topic or searched by keyword. Links are given to other US law and justice websites and other criminal law blogs.
The Public Defender Service (PDS) is a department of the Legal Aid Agency providing a range of criminal defence services including advice and representation at the police station or magistrates court through to advocacy in the higher courts. The PDS was established in 2001 as the first salaried criminal defence service in England and Wales and provides legal aided defence representation in all types of criminal cases.
This section of the Dutch government website covers the reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Wetboek van Strafvordering), a major project that began in 2014. An overview of the reform process is given and a collection of documents is provided, including drafts of parts of the new code, explanatory memoranda, consultation documents and discussion papers. There is also a News page. All the information on the site is in Dutch only.
Website of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. This court hears appeals from Crown Court cases including convictions and sentences given by the Crown Court. It also hears appeals against decisions made by ‘service courts’ (military courts). There is guidance on how to make an appeal and for counsel and solicitor advocates on using the Court of Appeal for criminal appeals. The site also has forms, Criminal Procedure Rules and a link to decisions on the Bailii website.
