The Modern Law of Evidence

Citation

Keane, A., & McKeown, P. (2024). The Modern Law of Evidence (15th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Chapter Summary

The fifteenth edition has twenty-three chapters. The publisher describes the book as a concise and focused analysis of the theory behind the law of evidence and of its practical application, with an emphasis on current debates, and as covering the topics found on evidence modules for students working towards academic or professional qualifications. The contents are arranged topic by topic, moving from proof and witnesses through exclusion to hearsay, confessions, character, opinion and privilege. The contents list does not group the chapters into parts, so the groupings below are an aid to reading rather than the book's own divisions.

Chapters 1–2: Introduction; Preliminaries

The opening chapters introduce the subject and its basic vocabulary before the rules on proof begin.

Chapters 3–4: The Burden and Standard of Proof; Proof of Facts Without Evidence

Chapter 3 covers the burden and standard of proof. The publisher cites Jones v Birmingham City Council on the civil standard of proof as one of the new developments in this edition. Chapter 4 addresses facts that may be established without evidence.

Chapter 5: Documentary and Real Evidence

This chapter is on evidence in the form of documents and of physical objects, as distinct from the testimony of witnesses.

Chapters 6–9: Witnesses; Examination-in-Chief; Cross-Examination and Re-Examination; Corroboration and Care Warnings

Four chapters follow the witness through the trial. Chapter 6 deals with witnesses generally, Chapter 7 with examination-in-chief, Chapter 8 with cross-examination and re-examination, and Chapter 9 with corroboration and care warnings. The publisher refers to R v W on the importance of the demeanour of witnesses among the new material.

Chapter 10: Visual and Voice Identification

Chapter 10 concentrates on evidence of identification, by sight and by voice.

Chapter 11: Evidence Obtained by Illegal or Unfair Means

This chapter concerns whether evidence gathered improperly may still be admitted.

Chapters 12–14: Hearsay in Criminal Cases; Hearsay Admissible by Statute in Civil Proceedings; Hearsay Admissible at Common Law

Hearsay is given three chapters, divided by the kind of proceedings and the source of the rule: criminal cases, civil proceedings under statute, and the common law. The publisher notes that the new edition deals with the admissibility of multiple hearsay in R v Inglis.

Chapters 15–16: Confessions; Adverse Inferences from an Accused's Silence or Conduct

These two chapters deal with confessions and with the inferences that may be drawn from an accused person's silence or conduct.

Chapters 17–19: Evidence of Character

Character evidence receives three chapters, each with its own subtitle: character in civil cases (Chapter 17), the good character of the accused (Chapter 18) and bad character in criminal cases (Chapter 19).

Chapters 20–23: Experts and Opinion Evidence; Public Policy; Privilege; Judgments as Evidence of the Facts upon Which They Were Based

The last chapters cover expert and opinion evidence (Chapter 20), public policy (Chapter 21), privilege (Chapter 22), and the use of judgments as evidence of the facts on which they were based (Chapter 23). The publisher cites Henderson v Ross on waiver of privilege and R v AAM on the admissibility of evidence of coercive and controlling behaviour among the new developments.

Key Concepts

Chapters 3–5: Proof

• Burden and standard of proof: who must prove a fact in a trial and how convincingly.
• Documentary and real evidence: proof by documents and objects rather than by witnesses.

Chapters 6–11: Witnesses and Exclusion

• Examination-in-chief and cross-examination: the stages through which a witness gives evidence, Chapters 7 and 8.
• Corroboration and care warnings: the cautions that apply to particular kinds of evidence, Chapter 9.
• Identification evidence: evidence by sight or voice, Chapter 10.
• Evidence obtained by illegal or unfair means: whether improperly obtained evidence may be used, Chapter 11.

Chapters 12–19: Hearsay, Confessions and Character

• Hearsay: an out-of-court statement offered to prove its content, treated separately for criminal and civil proceedings.
• Confessions and silence: the admissibility of confessions and the inferences from an accused's silence.
• Character evidence: good and bad character in criminal cases, and character in civil cases.

Chapters 20–23: Opinion, Policy, Privilege

• Expert and opinion evidence: when opinions may be given.
• Public policy and privilege: grounds on which relevant material may be withheld.
• Judgments as evidence: using the findings of an earlier judgment to prove facts.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Theory and practice together. The publisher states that the book examines the theory behind the law as well as its practical application, and encourages analytical thought on key debates. For a student who needs both the rules and the arguments about them, the combined approach is the stated aim.
• Coverage of civil and criminal evidence. The contents include chapters on character in civil cases and on hearsay in civil proceedings, and the publisher's new-edition notes include a decision on the civil standard of proof, alongside the criminal-evidence chapters. A course covering both can use one book.
• A topic-by-topic structure. Each rule or doctrine has its own chapter, so a reader can go directly to hearsay, confessions, privilege or identification, and the chapter titles make it easy to find the relevant rule.
• Visible updates. The publisher lists the recent cases in this edition, including Jones v Birmingham City Council, R v W, R v Inglis, Henderson v Ross and R v AAM, and says the authors draw on new academic articles.

Limitations

• A new edition is due. A bookseller listing notes that a sixteenth edition has been announced, so a reader should check which edition is current before buying or citing.
• Length and detail. Twenty-three chapters cover the field topic by topic. Hearsay alone takes three chapters and character evidence three, which makes the book a thorough reference but more than a short first course may need.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is a full course textbook covering evidence in both criminal and civil proceedings. Roderick Munday's Evidence is a concise introduction in Oxford's Core Text series, with chapter summaries and self-test questions, and is the natural first book for a student who wants a shorter route into the rules; Keane and McKeown fits as the fuller text once the outline is familiar. Claire McGourlay, Mark Thomas and Suzanne Gower's Evidence: Law and Context is another textbook on evidence in England and Wales, which sets the rules against their political, theoretical and policy background, and is a useful comparison for students who want more of that setting.

Paul Roberts's Roberts & Zuckerman's Criminal Evidence is a treatise on evidence in criminal proceedings that evaluates the rules against principles of accurate fact-finding and fairness to the accused, and suits students who have already completed a course. Ian Dennis's The Law of Evidence is a graduate-level study of the doctrine and its evolution, and Andrew Choo's Evidence is an undergraduate overview of the main topics with attention to the European Convention and the Human Rights Act.

How to Use This Book

The book is for students taking an evidence module, whether for an academic or a professional qualification, which is how the publisher describes its audience. A working knowledge of the English legal system and of basic criminal law and procedure is a sensible background.

A practical plan:

• Core: Chapters 3 and 4 on proof, Chapters 6 to 8 on witnesses, and then the chapters on hearsay (12 to 14), confessions (15), character (17 to 19) and privilege (22). These chapters give the backbone of the subject: proof, witnesses and the main admissibility rules.
• By module: Chapters 9 to 11 (corroboration, identification and improperly obtained evidence) and Chapter 16 (silence and adverse inferences) for modules that stress criminal procedure; Chapters 20 and 21 for work on expert evidence and public policy.
• Optional: Chapter 23 on judgments as evidence, and Chapter 5 on documents and real evidence, if not in the syllabus.

Read the book with the leading cases and the relevant statutes open, and use the new cases the publisher lists as a revision checklist for the topics they illustrate. Check which edition is current and whether later decisions affect the rules you rely on.