Law As Last Resort: Prosecution Decision-Making in a Regulating Agency (Oxford Socio-Legal Studies)

In Almost All Legal Disputing, Formalities Are Employed As A Last Resort. This Text Presents A New Theory Of Decision Making Exploring The Conditions Under Which Prosecution Is Employed To Handle Troublesome Occupational Health And Safety Problems. Themes, Perspectives, Questions -- 1. Instrumental And Other Uses Of Law -- 2. The Debate About Command And Control Regulation -- 3. Prosecution As A Last Resort -- 4. Scope, Methods, And Data -- 5. The Arrangement Of The Book -- Organizing Ideas -- 1. Naturalism -- 2. A Holistic Perspective On Legal Decision-making -- 3. Enforcing Regulation -- 4. Towards A Theory Of Legal Decision-making -- Pre-trial Processes -- 1. Disorderly Patterns -- 2. The Visible Process: Inspector As Leading Actor -- 3. Pre-trial Decision-making Structures -- 4. Control Of Decision-making In A Decentralized Inspectorate -- 5. Pre-trial Choices -- 6. Pre-trial Bargaining -- 7. Civil Action -- Decision-making Environments -- 1. The Surround In General -- 2. Properties Of The Local Surround: Construction And Chemicals Industries -- Formal Structure And Practice -- 1. The Robens Committee And The Hsw Act, 1974 -- 2. Hsc And Hse -- 3. The European Dimension -- 4. Stuctures And Relationships --^ 5. Subsequent Changes -- 6. Legal Powers -- Prosecution Policy -- 1. Clearing The Ground -- 2. Enforcement Policy As A Formal Conception -- 3. Enforcement Policy As A Practical Conception -- 4. Sources Of Enforcement Policy -- 5. The Structure Of Inspectorates -- Symbols And Images -- 1. Prosecution As A Public Act -- 2. Audiences -- 3. Expectations -- 4. Messages -- 5. Appearances -- 6. The Big Case -- 7. Vulnerability And Amplification -- Enforcers' Theories Of Compliance And Punishment -- 1. On Compliance -- 2. Enforcers' Theories Of Compliance -- 3. Enforcers' Theories Of Non-compliance -- 4. The Social Construction Of Business Character -- 5. Enforcers' Theories Of Punishment -- The Instrumental Frame: Will Prosecution Have An Impact? -- 1. On Regulatory Effectiveness -- 2. The Impact Of Prosecution -- 3. The Rationale Of Deterrence -- 4. The Paradox Of Control -- The Organizational Frame: Prosecuting As Advertising -- 1. Imagery In Organizational Life --^ 2. Organizational Expectations -- 3. Indicators -- 4. Constraints -- 5. Caseload Effects -- The Symbolic Frame: The Social Construction Of Blame -- 1. On Blaming -- 2. On Mitigating Blame -- 3. The Conditions Of Blame -- The Legal Frame: Can A Case Be Made? -- 1. The Legal Frame -- 2. Can A Legal Case Be Made? -- 3. Losing -- 4. Applying The Legal Frame -- 5. Breaking Frame -- On Prosecution, Legal Decision-making, And Law -- 1. About Prosecution -- 2. About Legal Decision-making -- 3. About Law -- App. Research Methods And Data Sources. Keith Hawkins. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [461]-473) And Index.