Law Reports, Transcripts, and the Fabric of the Criminal Law—A Speculation

Thanks to the advent of searchable, computerised archives of unreported (but fully referenced) appellate decisions, anyone researching a legal problem today has ready access to a vast mass of previously concealed authorities. This article speculates on one of the troubling possibilities this cornucopia brings with it: namely, that if one surveys the full range of materials now accessible, one may actually need to reconfigure what were previously assumed to be settled bodies of knowledge. Using the soon-to-be-defunct similar fact evidence principles as an illustration, this article is not so much intended offer a proof of the thesis, but to throw out a teasing question that, in truth, goes to the root of English legal method.