Periodically miscarriages of justice become newsworthy and inform not only those who may have some responsibility for their occurrence and rectification, but the general public as well. At those times proposals for reform tend to ensue, and reforms occur. But such occasions are rarely considered historically or understood from an evolutionary perspective. This article undertakes to offer that missing feature. It attempts to inform the periodic highly charged discussion of miscarriages of justice with an understanding of their ingredients illustrated by both some recent and some much older history. The article presents the thesis that miscarriages of justice are a component of the workings of all criminal justice systems, part of their operations, rather than their malfunction. It shows how miscarriages of justice are the criminal justice system’s answer to a prior problem, the functional need to convict more persons than can be shown, with certainty, to have committed the crimes of which they have been charged. This thesis has the implication of inserting some modesty into proposals for reform, not to decry their attempts, but to inspire less naivety. The article focuses on the changing methods of the criminal trial, throughout the second millennium and up to the present day, as an expression of the underlying problématique that represents its thesis.

中文翻译：

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审判和流产：进化的社会历史分析

司法不公定期变得具有新闻价值，不仅告知可能对其发生和纠正负有一定责任的人，而且告知普通公众。在那个时候，改革的提议往往随之而来，改革也随之发生。但是这样的情况很少被历史地考虑或从进化的角度来理解。本文承诺提供该缺失的功能。它试图通过对一些近期和一些更古老历史所说明的成分的理解，为关于误判的定期激烈讨论提供信息。本文提出的论点是，司法不公是所有刑事司法系统运作的一个组成部分，是其运作的一部分，而不是其故障。它显示了司法不公如何是刑事司法系统对先前问题的回答，功能需要定罪的人比可以肯定地表明他们犯下了他们被指控的罪行的人要多。这篇论文的意思是在改革建议中插入一些谦虚，不是谴责他们的尝试，而是激发他们的天真。这篇文章侧重于刑事审判方法的变化，从整个第二个千年到今天，作为代表其论点的潜在问题的表达。不是要谴责他们的尝试，而是要激发更少的天真。这篇文章侧重于刑事审判方法的变化，从整个第二个千年到今天，作为代表其论点的潜在问题的表达。不是要谴责他们的尝试，而是要激发更少的天真。这篇文章侧重于刑事审判方法的变化，从整个第二个千年到今天，作为代表其论点的潜在问题的表达。