Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice

Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice (usually called simply Archbold) is a leading ^[1] practitioners' text book for the practice of criminal law in the Crown Court of England and Wales. It is also referred to and used in several other common law jurisdictions around the world.

Archbold has been in publication since 1822, when it was first written by John Frederick Archbold. It is currently published by Sweet & Maxwell, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters. ^[2] Forty-three revisions were published prior to 1992 and since then it has been published annually. Its authority is such that it is often quoted in court.

The team of authors is made up of experienced solicitors, barristers, King's Counsel and judges.

Editors

Editors	Editions	Dates
J. F. Archbold	1st – 3rd eds	1822–1829
John Jervis	4th – 9th eds	1831–1843
William Newland Welsby	10th – 15th eds	1846–1862
W. Bruce	16th – 21st eds	1867–1893
W. F. Craies and G. Stephenson	22nd – 23rd eds	1900–1905
W. F. Craies and H. D. Roome	24th ed.	1910
H. D. Roome and R. E. Ross	25th – 27th eds	1918–1927
R. E. Ross and T. R. F. Butler	28th – 29th eds	1931–1934
R. E. Ross and M. Turner	30th ed.	1938
T. R. F. Butler and M. Garsia	31st – 37th eds	1943–1969
T. R. F. Butler and S. G. Mitchell	38th ed.	1973
S. G. Mitchell	39th – 40th eds	1976–1979
S. G. Mitchell and P. J. Richardson	41st – 42nd eds	1982–1985
S. G. Mitchell, P. J. Richardson and D. A. Thomas	43rd ed.	1988
P. J. Richardson		1992–2018
M. Lucraft		2019–

Related publications

A separate work, Archbold Magistrates' Courts Criminal Practice (usually called simply Archbold Magistrates) covers the criminal jurisdiction of magistrates' courts and youth courts of England and Wales. It also provides coverage of a number of civil orders which complement the criminal jurisdiction of those courts. ^[3] As of 2025 ^[update] , Archbold Magistrates is in its 21st edition.

A further work, Archbold: International Criminal Courts covers the practice, procedure and rules of evidence applicable to international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court. ^[4] The fifth and most recent edition of this work was published in 2018.

References

1. Incorporated Council Of Law Reporting
2. Sweet & Maxwell page for Archbold
3. Sweet & Maxwell, Archbold Magistrates' Courts Criminal Practice 2025, accessed 16 February 2025
4. Sweet & Maxwell, Archbold: International Criminal Courts, accessed 16 February 2025

External links

• The 1st edition of Archbold (1822), from Google Books .
• The 1st American edition of this book (1824), from Google Books .
• The 4th edition of this book (1831), from Google Books
• The 5th American edition of this book (1846), from Google Books
• The 12th edition of this book, republished (with accretions and along with another book by Archbold) in Waterman's Archbold (1853), volume 1 and volume 2 , from Google Books.
• The 23rd edition of this book from Internet Archive.