Legal assistance and the protection of suspects in a post-Cadder world

Capaldi, Louis G. (2014) Legal assistance and the protection of suspects in a post-Cadder world. LL.M(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis reviews the extent to which the introduction of a right to legal assistance
(RLA) during detention has improved the protection of suspects following: (i) changes
that have been made in the Criminal Procedure (Legal Assistance, Detention and
Appeals) (Scotland) Act 2010 and (ii) changes proposed in legislation stemming from
Lord Carloway’s Review, namely the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill that is currently
progressing through the Scottish Parliament. It will do this by identifying and then
assessing the four main protections facilitated by the newly introduced RLA in the post-
Cadder Scottish criminal justice system. The likely effect on a suspect following the
implementation of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill in conjunction with the limited
safeguards which have been incorporated into the Bill as it stands at present, means that
the enhanced protections intended to ensure increased fairness and justice for all
suspects, may in fact largely nullify the intentions of both the Cadder ruling and Lord
Carloway’s recommendations, however well intentioned both were. This thesis
concludes that with a lack of adequate safeguards in place, combined with high rates of
waiver, an increase in the time a suspect can now be detained, and the removal of that
cornerstone of criminal procedure, corroboration, all conspire to make a suspect less
protected than he would have been prior to the introduction of the RLA in the 2010 Act.

• Item Type: Thesis (LL.M(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Subjects: K Law > K Law (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Supervisor's Name: Leverick, Prof. Fiona
• Date of Award: 2014
• Depositing User: Mrs Marie Cairney
• Unique ID: glathesis:2014-5500
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 22 Sep 2014 07:48
• Last Modified: 22 Sep 2014 08:47
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/5500