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History Pre-confederation (to 1867)

Colonial Justice

Justice, Morality, and Crime in the Niagara District, 1791-1849

by (author) David Murray

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Dec 2002
Category
Pre-Confederation (to 1867), Legal History, Court Records
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802086884
    Publish Date
    Dec 2002
    List Price
    $35.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802037497
    Publish Date
    Dec 2002
    List Price
    $75.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442655966
    Publish Date
    Dec 2002
    List Price
    $37.95

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Description

In 1791 when the Constitutional Act created a legislative assembly for Upper Canada, the colonists and their British rulers decreed that the operating criminal justice system in the area be adopted from England, to avoid any undue influence from the nearby United States. In this new study of early Canadian law, David Murray has delved into the court records of the Niagara District, one of the richest sets of criminal court records surviving from Upper Canada, to analyze the criminal justice system in the district during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Murray explores how far local characteristics affected the operation of a criminal justice system transplanted from England; his analysis includes how legal processes affected Upper Canadian morality, the treatment of the insane, welfare cases, crimes committed in the district, and an examination of the roles of the Niagara magistrates, constables, and juries. Murray concludes by arguing that while the principles and culture of British justice were firmly implanted in the Niagara district, this did not prevent justice from being unequal, especially for women and visible minorities. Integrating the stories of the individuals caught up in the legal system, Murray explores law from a local perspective, and illuminates how the Niagara region's criminal justice system operated under hybrid influences from both Britain and the United States.

About the author

David Murray is a University Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Guelph.

David Murray's profile page

Editorial Reviews

'This valuable book should be in all libraries concerned with legal or Canadian history.'

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