Text in Afrikaans / The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 200 of 1993 that took effect from 27 April 1994, gave an accused a constitutional right to legal representation. Although the right of an accused to be legally represented formed an integral part of the South African Law, the Constitution gave him the further right ofbeing provided with legal representation at the cost of the State . For the practical implementation ofthe Constitution extensive changes to the current Legal Aid Scheme are essential . This work is an investigation of the justification of an accused's right to legal representation and the right to be provided with legal representation at the expense of the State . The practical implementation of the Constitution is discussed and suggestions are made that might be a solution to the current problem of the provision of legal aid at the State's expense. / Die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika 200 van 1993 wat op 27 April 1994 in werking getree het, het konstitusionele erkenning verleen aan 'n beskuldigde se reg op regsverteenwoordiging . Alhoewel die reg van 'n beskuldigde tot regsverteenwoordiging inherent deel van die Suid-Afrikaanse reg was het die Grondwet verder gegaan en 'n beskuldigde die reg gegee om op staatskoste van regsverteenwoordiging voorsien te word . Om die Grondwet prakties uitvoerbaar te maak sal ingrypende veranderings aan die huidige Regshulpskema noodsaaklik wees . Hierdie werk behels 'n regshistoriese - en regsvergelykende studie van die reg van 'n beskuldigde tot regsverteenwoordiging en die reg om op staatskoste van regshulp voorsien te word . Die praktiese uitvoerbaarheid van die Grondwet word bespreek en voorstelle word aan die hand gedoen om die huidige situasie, wat betref die verskaffing van regshulp op staatskoste, te verbeter . / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL. M.

Each year, an estimated 318,000 defendants who do not comprehend the Miranda warnings waive their rights and provide incriminating evidence without the protection of counsel (Rogers, 2008), which make Miranda-related competencies one of the most pervasive pretrial issues. A wide range of issues could potentially affect an individual's capacity to provide a knowing and intelligent waiver. Previous Miranda research has focused narrowly on the effects of cognitive and developmental factors. The current study added to the Miranda literature by examining the impact of two highly prevalent conditions found in correctional populations, attention deficits and substance abuse. Adult defendants in custody (N = 118) were evaluated within 36 hours of arrest in order to assess both chronic psychological disorders and situational variables. Results indicate that attention deficits have a significant impact on defendants' ability to provide a knowing Miranda waiver, whereas substance use profoundly affected their reasoning about Miranda waiver decisions. This study represents the first systematic investigation of the effect of transient mental states on Miranda-related abilities with criminal defendants. Important implications for forensic practice are addressed.

Text in Afrikaans / The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 200 of 1993 that took effect from 27 April 1994, gave an accused a constitutional right to legal representation. Although the right of an accused to be legally represented formed an integral part of the South African Law, the Constitution gave him the further right ofbeing provided with legal representation at the cost of the State . For the practical implementation ofthe Constitution extensive changes to the current Legal Aid Scheme are essential . This work is an investigation of the justification of an accused's right to legal representation and the right to be provided with legal representation at the expense of the State . The practical implementation of the Constitution is discussed and suggestions are made that might be a solution to the current problem of the provision of legal aid at the State's expense. / Die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika 200 van 1993 wat op 27 April 1994 in werking getree het, het konstitusionele erkenning verleen aan 'n beskuldigde se reg op regsverteenwoordiging . Alhoewel die reg van 'n beskuldigde tot regsverteenwoordiging inherent deel van die Suid-Afrikaanse reg was het die Grondwet verder gegaan en 'n beskuldigde die reg gegee om op staatskoste van regsverteenwoordiging voorsien te word . Om die Grondwet prakties uitvoerbaar te maak sal ingrypende veranderings aan die huidige Regshulpskema noodsaaklik wees . Hierdie werk behels 'n regshistoriese - en regsvergelykende studie van die reg van 'n beskuldigde tot regsverteenwoordiging en die reg om op staatskoste van regshulp voorsien te word . Die praktiese uitvoerbaarheid van die Grondwet word bespreek en voorstelle word aan die hand gedoen om die huidige situasie, wat betref die verskaffing van regshulp op staatskoste, te verbeter . / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL. M.

Nearly 700,000 suspects with mental disorders are arrested and Mirandized each year. The current study systematically examined the effects of cognitive deficits and psychological symptoms on both Miranda comprehension and reasoning. The current sample was comprised of 85 adult psychiatric inpatients recruited from University Behavioral Health (UBH), a private psychiatric hospital in North Texas. Unexpectedly, most inpatients demonstrated pervasive deficits in their immediate recall of a representative Miranda warning, omitting approximately four-fifths of its content. In addition, the majority of inpatients evidenced damaging errors in their reasoning about waiver decisions. As a result, 64.7% waived and subsequently confessed after only a 3-5 minute interrogation. Interestingly, impaired verbal ability but not the severity of their symptoms predicted greater deficits in Miranda comprehension.

Text in Afrikaans / Alhoewel die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika die bestaande reg op regsverteenwoordiging uitgebrei het tot sy logiese eindpunt, is daar geen vaste inhoud aan hierdie reg gegee nie en sal die howe die omvang daarvan moet ontwikkel. Hierdie reg kan weens die heersende sosiale en ekonomiese omstandighede nie 'n absolute reg wees nie. Indien 'n beskuldigde nie 'n regsverteenwoordiger kan bekostig nie, sal een op staatsonkoste aan horn verskaf word, maar slegs indien <lit andersins tot wesentlike onreg sal lei. In so 'n geval het die beskuldigde nie die reg op 'n regsverteenwoordiger van sy keuse nie. Effektiewe regsverteenwoordiging word ook nie gewaarborg nie. Daar word derhalwe steeds nie aan die sine qua non van 'n volledige strafregplegingstelsel soos <lit oor tyd in die Verenigde State van Amerika ontwikkel het, <lit is die verskaffing van kostelose regsverteenwoordiging aan elke behoeftige persoon beskuldig van 'n emstige misdaad, voldoen nie / Although the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa has extended the existing right to legal representation to its logical conclusion, no definitive substance has been given to this right and the courts will have to develop the purview thereof. This right cannot be an absolute right because of ruling social and economic circumstances. Should an accused not be able to afford a legal representative, one will be supplied to him at state expense, but only if substantial injustice would otherwise result. In such an event the accused is not entitled to a legal representative of his choice. Effective legal representation is also not guaranteed. There is therefore still not compliance with the sine qua non of a comprehensive criminal justice system as has developed over time in the United States of America, that is the provision of free legal representation to every indigent person accused of a serious crime / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.M. (Straf en Prosesreg)

[pt] A Constituição da República, de 1988, estabelece que os Estados e a União Federal têm a obrigação de prestar assistência jurídica integral e gratuita aos necessitados devendo fazê-lo por intermédio da Defensoria Pública. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo permitir uma melhor compreensão acerca desse modelo brasileiro de prestação de assistência jurídica, tal como estabelecido na Constituição, com o propósito de averiguar se realmente é o mais apto para garantir o pleno acesso de todos à Justiça e, conseqüentemente, assegurar a efetividade dos direitos fundamentais das pessoas desprovidas de recursos econômicos para atingir esses fins por meios próprios. Para cumprir com esse objetivo, realizou-se inicialmente uma análise crítica na perspectiva histórica e das principais referências normativas do ordenamento jurídico constitucional e infraconstitucional em vigor no país, que regem o exercício do direito à assistência jurídica integral, ou seja, a assistência que é prestada tanto em âmbito judicial quanto extrajudicial, e um estudo das normas que regem o funcionamento da Defensoria Pública. Outro caminho percorrido foi o de investigar mais a fundo os modelos de assistência jurídica gratuita em funcionamento na França e nos Estados Unidos. Tais sociedades foram escolhidas não apenas pela grande influência histórica que têm tido na evolução das instituições jurídico-políticas brasileiras, mas também porque apresentam características bem diversificadas em seus sistemas jurídicos, o que contribuiu para a ampliação dos horizontes do estudo realizado. Para melhor compreensão desses sistemas alienígenas, realizamos duas temporadas consecutivas de estudos no exterior, permanecendo seis meses nos Estados Unidos e seis meses na França. Utilizando a metodologia de caráter etnográfico (observação e entrevistas), tivemos a oportunidade de acompanhar de perto o funcionamento real desses dois modelos de assistência jurídica, com visitas a instituições e acompanhamento de seu trabalho cotidiano, entrevistas com personalidades do mundo jurídico e, também, realizando amplo levantamento bibliográfico acerca do tema nos respectivos países. A partir da análise crítica na perspectiva histórica e das referências normativas atuais que regem o funcionamento desses dois sistemas estrangeiros de assistência jurídica aos necessitados, foi possível realizar um contraste com o modelo brasileiro, destacando-se as virtudes e os defeitos que, como é próprio de toda obra humana, se fazem presentes em cada um desses três sistemas analisados. Espera-se que um conhecimento mais profundo acerca do modelo nacional que foi estabelecido na Constituição Federal para a prestação desses serviços de assistência jurídica integral e gratuita venha a contribuir para que os atores institucionais envolvidos no sistema possam potencializar as virtudes e busquem neutralizar os defeitos existentes, de modo que se atinja plenamente a meta de garantir igualdade no acesso à Justiça e de ampla efetividade dos direitos fundamentais de todos os brasileiros, independentemente de sua condição social ou econômica. / [en] The 1988 Constitution of the Brazilian Republic mandates that the States and the Federal Union provide full and free legal assistance to every citizen in need, through the Office of the Public Defender. The following study seeks to develop a better understanding of this Brazilian model of constitutionally mandated legal assistance, and determine whether it is really the best mean of assuring full access to justice for every person, regardless of their financial means. The study approaches this issue from an historical perspective, with reference to the constitutional and statutory legal system operating in Brazil, requiring full legal assistance to the poor (i.e. legal advice and right to counsel in civil and criminal cases), as well as the rules that govern the operations of the Public Defender`s Office. We will also review alternative models of free legal assistance offered in France and the United States. These systems were selected not only for their historical influence over Brazilian political and judicial institutions, but also because they reveal diverse characteristics in their judicial systems that broaden the horizon of our study. In two consecutive seasons of ethnographic research (participant and no participant observation and interviews), six months in the USA, and six months in France, we are able to closely observe the day-to-day functioning of these two models of legal assistance, with visits to offices, interviews with key figures in the judicial system, and an extensive bibliographical review of the literature on legal assistance in the respective countries. Through this critical historical and normative analysis of the operation of these two foreign systems of legal assistance to the poor, we believe it has been possible to throw into greater relief the virtues and defects of the Brazilian model. We hope that this study will produce a deeper understanding of the national model of free and comprehensive legal assistance established in the Brazilian Constitution, and encourage those responsible for administering the system to optimize its virtues and overcome its defects to better achieve its goals of equal access to justice and the guarantee of the fundamental rights of all Brazilians, regardless of theirs social or economic condition. / [fr] La Constitution de la République du Brésil, de 1988, établit que les États et l´Union Fédérale sont tenus de fournir l´assistance juridique intégrale et gratuite aux démunis par l´intermédiaire du Bureau de la Défense Publique. Le présent exposé a pour but permettre une meilleure compréhension de ce modèle brésilien d´aide juridique, tel que l´a établi la Constitution, avec l´intention de vérifier si c´est vraiment mieux conçu pour garantir le plein accès de tous à la Justice et, par conséquent, d´assurer l´effectivité des droits fondamentaux des personnes démunies de conditions économiques pour atteindre ces objectifs avec leurs propres moyens. Pour accomplir ce dessein on a développé premièrement une analyse critique sous la perspective historique ainsi que des principales réferences normatives de l´ordonnance juridique constitutionnelle et infraconstitutionnelle en vigueur au Brésil, qui régissent l´exercice du droit d´aide juridique intégrale, soit l´assistance qui est proposée aussi bien en matière judiciaire qu´extrajudiciaire, et une étude des normes qui définissent le fonctionnement de du Bureau de la Défense Publique. Une autre voie parcourue a troit à l´énquête plus à fond des modèles d´assistance juridique gratuite en vigueur en France et aux États-Unis. Ces societés ont été choisies, non seulement en raison de leur grande influence historique dans l´évolution des institutions juridico- politiques brésiliennes, mais aussi parce-qu´elles présentent des caractéristiques bien diversifiées dans leurs systèmes juridiques, ce qui a contribué à l´ouverture des horizons de l´étude réalisé. Pour mieux comprendre ces systèmes d´autres Pays, nous avons fait deux séjours consécutifs d´études à l´étranger, passant six mois aux États-Unis et six mois en France. En utilisant la métodologie de l´observation participative, nous avons eu l´occasion d´accompagner de près le fonctionnement réel de ces deux modéles d´assistance juridique, visitant des institutions et accompagnant leur travail quotidien, obtenant des entrevues avec des personalités du monde juridique et aussi, en organisant une importante bibliographie au sujet du thème dans les Pays respectifs. À partir de l´analyse critique de la perspective historique et des réferences normatives actuelles qui régissent le fonctionnement de ces deux systèmes étrangers d´assistance juridique aux démunis(ies) a été possible d´établir une comparaison avec le modèle brésilien, en soulignant les qualités et les points faibles qui, comme il est propre à toute oeuvre humaine, sont présents en chacun de ces trois systèmes analisés. On espère qu´une connaissance plus profonde, au sujet du modèle national juridique établi par la Constitution Féderale pour la prestation de ces services d´assistance juridique intégrale et gratuite, viendra contribuer pour que les acteurs institutionnels engagés puissent multiplier les qualités autant que neutraliser les points faibles existants, de façon a que l´on puisse atteindre pleinement le but d´assurer l´égalité à l´accès à la Justice et une grande effectivité des droits fondamentaux de tous les brésiliens, indépendamment de leur condition sociale ou économique.

Text in Afrikaans / Alhoewel die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika die bestaande reg op regsverteenwoordiging uitgebrei het tot sy logiese eindpunt, is daar geen vaste inhoud aan hierdie reg gegee nie en sal die howe die omvang daarvan moet ontwikkel. Hierdie reg kan weens die heersende sosiale en ekonomiese omstandighede nie 'n absolute reg wees nie. Indien 'n beskuldigde nie 'n regsverteenwoordiger kan bekostig nie, sal een op staatsonkoste aan horn verskaf word, maar slegs indien <lit andersins tot wesentlike onreg sal lei. In so 'n geval het die beskuldigde nie die reg op 'n regsverteenwoordiger van sy keuse nie. Effektiewe regsverteenwoordiging word ook nie gewaarborg nie. Daar word derhalwe steeds nie aan die sine qua non van 'n volledige strafregplegingstelsel soos <lit oor tyd in die Verenigde State van Amerika ontwikkel het, <lit is die verskaffing van kostelose regsverteenwoordiging aan elke behoeftige persoon beskuldig van 'n emstige misdaad, voldoen nie / Although the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa has extended the existing right to legal representation to its logical conclusion, no definitive substance has been given to this right and the courts will have to develop the purview thereof. This right cannot be an absolute right because of ruling social and economic circumstances. Should an accused not be able to afford a legal representative, one will be supplied to him at state expense, but only if substantial injustice would otherwise result. In such an event the accused is not entitled to a legal representative of his choice. Effective legal representation is also not guaranteed. There is therefore still not compliance with the sine qua non of a comprehensive criminal justice system as has developed over time in the United States of America, that is the provision of free legal representation to every indigent person accused of a serious crime / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M. (Straf en Prosesreg)

Le thème de la protection pénale de l'accusé, connu des pénalistes, mérite aujourd'hui d'être renouvelé sous un angle essentiellement probatoire, au regard de l'évolution actuelle du procès pénal. Situés au confluent de l'innocence et de la culpabilité, les droits et garanties accordés à l'accusé, entendu dans son acception conventionnelle, doivent être analysés en considération des principes fondateurs que sont la présomption d'innocence et les droits de la défense. L'évolution continue de ces deux principes, dans un sens diamétralement opposé, rejaillit inévitablement sur l'intensité et les modalités de la protection dont bénéficie toute personne suspectée ou poursuivie dans le cadre d'une procédure pénale.La présente étude, volontairement limitée à la phase préparatoire du procès pénal, se propose d'appréhender, dans un souci pratique et technique, les différentes évolutions jurisprudentielles et législatives opérées en la matière. Y seront ainsi abordées les principales problématiques actuellement rencontrées en procédure pénale telles que la question du statut juridique du suspect ou encore l'effectivité du principe du contradictoire dans l'avant-procès pénal. S'il peut être tentant, au premier abord, de conclure à un renforcement indiscutable de la protection pénale accordée à l'accusé, il conviendra alors de reconsidérer cette question à l'aune de l'étude des limites procédurales attachées au procès pénal. Loin d'aborder ce thème dans une optique partisane, il sera question de modération dans les propos tenus. En effet, peut-être plus que sur toute autre question de procédure pénale, il est impératif de savoir raison garder. / The theme of the criminal protection of the accused, well-known to criminal specialists, today deserves to be renewed under a probationary essentially angle, in the light of current developments in the criminal trial. Located at the confluence of innocence and guilt, the rights and guarantees granted to the accused understood in its conventional sense, must be analyzed in consideration of the founding principles of presumption of innocence and the rights of the defense. The continuing evolution of these two principles, in a sense diametrically opposite, inevitably reflects the intensity and the terms of the protection afforded any person suspected or prosecuted under criminal proceedings.This study deliberately limited to the pre-trial phase, proposes to understand, in a practical and technical problems, the various case law and legislative developments carried out in the field. Will thus addressed the key issues currently faced in criminal proceedings such as the question of the legal status of the suspect or the effectiveness of the adversarial principle in the preliminary criminal trial. While it may be tempting, at first, to conclude an indisputable strengthening the criminal protection afforded to the accused, then it will be necessary to reconsider this issue in terms of the study of procedural limitations attached to the criminal trial. Far from addressing this issue in a partisan way, it will be about moderation in the remarks. Indeed, perhaps more than any other issue of criminal procedure, it is imperative to keep a sense of proportion.