There is a scant existing literature on the relationship between the right to silence and its effect on convictions in Australia and comparable jurisdictions. Existing research has downplayed its significance in the face of various ‘law and order’ interventions seeking to limit its operation. This study is one of the largest of its kind, surveying over 1,000 charges to empirically assess the frequency of use and the effects of silence rights (the right to silence, privilege against self-incrimination and burden of proof) on conviction, in relation to a particular set of charges laid against a specific group of marginalised defendants in the Local Court summary jurisdiction of NSW. Adding to the existing literature, this study shows empirically how silence rights operate within an Australian summary jurisdiction for a specific group of criminal defendants who are significantly socially marginalised. In the process, it demonstrates that the use of silence rights is significant for this group, mostly in non-regulatory criminal matters. In this respect, silence rights can be understood to correlate with rates of conviction, mitigation of criminal sentencing and the practice of charge-bargaining.

中文翻译：

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沉默问题：新南威尔士州简易司法管辖区的沉默权调查

在澳大利亚和类似司法管辖区，关于沉默权与其对定罪的影响之间关系的现有文献很少。面对试图限制其运作的各种“法律和秩序”干预，现有研究淡化了其重要性。这项研究是同类研究中规模最大的一项，调查了 1,000 多项指控，以实证评估沉默权的使用频率和影响（沉默权、反对自证其罪的特权和举证责任）对定罪的影响，与在新南威尔士州地方法院的简易管辖权中针对特定的边缘化被告群体提出的一系列特定指控。添加到现有文献中，这项研究从经验上展示了沉默权是如何在澳大利亚简易司法管辖区内为特定的社会边缘化的特定刑事被告群体运作的。在这个过程中，它表明沉默权的使用对这个群体很重要，主要是在非监管刑事案件中。在这方面，沉默权可以被理解为与定罪率、减轻刑事处罚和讨价还价的做法相关。