Keir Monteith

03 Jul 2024

Challenging Bias: Keir Monteith KC's Lecture on the Criminalisation of Rap Music and Call for Legal Reform

At an inaugural lecture at the University of Manchester Law School in May, Keir Monteith KC, an acclaimed legal expert recently appointed as an Honorary Senior Lecturer, discussed the increasing criminalisation of rap music. The lecture examined how rap lyrics and music videos are used as evidence in criminal trials, particularly targeting young people and disproportionately affecting Black individuals.

With a distinguished career representing clients in heavyweight criminal cases, Monteith brings a unique perspective to this complex issue. At the lecture he delved into the misconceptions and stereotypes that often accompany the interpretation of rap music in legal proceedings. Through examples, he also illustrated how innocent individuals have been unjustly targeted and convicted on the basis of their association with rap music. Keir is advocating for legislative reforms to address systemic biases within the legal system, referencing the draft legislation proposed by artnotevidence.org as a crucial step towards redressing the imbalance in criminal prosecutions.

New research from the University of Manchester has outlined how rap music is being used as evidence to build cases against children and young adults in serious crime prosecutions. Despite mounting criticism, there is very little regulation or monitoring of how rap is being used as criminal evidence, and it continues to be used to build ‘gang-related’ prosecutions under highly contentious Secondary Liability laws.

The report from Eithne Quinn, Professor of Cultural Studies in SALC, co-authored with Erica Kane and Will Pritchard, found 68 cases between 2020 and 2023 that involved 252 defendants, the overwhelming majority of whom were Black or mixed race, in which rap music was used as evidence for serious charges of violence - including murders.

Said Professor Quinn: “Our findings are deeply troubling, and support the view that the marshalling of rap evidence in criminal cases encourages police and prosecutors to further increase the number of people charged as secondaries under already egregious secondary liability laws.”