Deterrence, Retributivism, and the Law of Evidence

Virginia Law Review In Brief, Vol. 93, pp. 189-198, September 2007

10 Pages Posted: 6 Jun 2012 Last revised: 9 Jul 2014

See all articles by Richard A. Bierschbach

Richard A. Bierschbach

Wayne State University Law School

Alex Stein

Israel Supreme Court

Date Written: September 1, 2007

Abstract

This essay, published in the Virginia Law Review's online companion, condenses the argument of our article, Mediating Rules in Criminal Law. The traditional understanding of evidentiary rules in criminal law as geared overwhelmingly to truth in fact-finding, we claim, is incomplete. Evidentiary rules also perform a deeper systemic function by mediating latent conflicts between criminal law's deterrence and retributivist objectives. We sketch the outlines of our theory and offer a brief illustration.

Keywords: criminal law, criminal procedure, deterrence, retribution, evidence, evidentiary procedure

Suggested Citation

Bierschbach, Richard A. and Stein, Alex, Deterrence, Retributivism, and the Law of Evidence (September 1, 2007). Virginia Law Review In Brief, Vol. 93, pp. 189-198, September 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2078166

Richard A. Bierschbach (Contact Author)

Wayne State University Law School ( email )

471 Palmer
Detroit, MI 48202
United States

Alex Stein

Israel Supreme Court ( email )

Sha'arey Mishpat Street
Jerusalem
Israel

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