LAWS 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, Victorian Era, Legal Clinic
Document Summary
Before run/funded by the government, this was managed by the churches/parishes: not based on the idea that everyone needed equal rights, it was instead linked off the need for social stability by maintaining order in communities. Poor law amendment act 1834: major legal overhaul to diminish societal chaos, established poor law commission" to maintain the rights of the poor, established workhouses for the poor/mentally ill. Legal protection for children laborers considered but not enforced. Chimney sweeps act 1834 (no younger then 10) Those accused of high treason granted right to defense counsel. Allowed to consult attorneys but still had to present their own defense. Emergence of defense counsel to address imbalance in adversaries. Changes the presentation of certain types of evidence: hearsay testimony, eyewitness identification evidence, coerced confessions. At the beginning of the 20th century there was 2 different views: providing legal services to the poor is key to securing equality in administration of justice.
