Admission of bad character as a relevant matter in issue Section 101(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) permits the admission of bad character evidence...
Criminal Justice Act 2003 The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) permits the admission of bad character evidence if it is 'important explanatory evidence'. The...
The Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 101(1)(d) The Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 101(1)(d) (CJA 2003) permits the admission of bad character evidence which is 'relevant to an...
The Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 101(1)(d) The Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 101(1)(d) (CJA 2003) permits the admission of bad character evidence which is 'relevant to an...
What is bad character? The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) governs the admissibility of the 'bad character' of a defendant. The starting point is to identify whether...
How to identify hearsay The definition of hearsay is contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). It comprises of four essential elements. There must be: • a...
Statements in business and other documents The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) governs the admissibility of: • business records, and • documents prepared for pending...
The statutory conditions The statement of an absent witness is only admissible if the following conditions are satisfied: • the evidence would be admissible as oral...
Categories of admissibility The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) radically reformed the common law rules relating to the admissibility of hearsay evidence, see...
The statutory conditions Hearsay evidence may be admitted under one or more of the statutory gateways of admissibility contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA...
Admissibility of non-defendant's bad character Evidence of bad character is generally inadmissible against a person other the accused in criminal proceedings. However,...
Bad character to correct a false impression The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) permits the admission of evidence of the defendant's bad character for the purposes...
Should a suspect ask for an identification procedure? A suspect may need legal advice on whether to request an identification procedure where the police have not offered...
There are two kinds of burden: • the legal burden, and • the evidential burden The legal burden A party has the legal (sometimes called ‘the persuasive’) burden where the...
Defendant's bad character The admissibility of the defendant's 'bad character' is governed by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). There are seven statutory gateways...
Breach of PACE Codes of Practice The arrangement and conduct of identification procedures are governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984) Codes of...
Competency—general rule The most common way for evidence to be adduced is through the testimony of a witness. A witness is said to be competent if he can, as a matter of...
What is a confession? A confession is broadly defined in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984) as any statement which is wholly or partly adverse to the...
In summarising the law of contempt of court, the Court of Appeal has stated: ‘The law of contempt exists to protect the course of proceedings from interference, to...
What is jury irregularity? An irregularity is any action which may prevent a juror or jury from remaining faithful to their oath or affirmation to 'faithfully try the...
The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) sets out the disclosure duties of both the prosecution and the defendant in criminal proceedings. For...
Initial details of the prosecution case (IDPC) The requirements for service and contents of the initial details of the prosecution case (IDPC) are governed by the...
Excluding evidence of the defendant's 'bad character' under CJA 2003, s 101(3) Where evidence of a defendant's bad character is admissible under the Criminal Justice Act...
The test for exclusion under PACE 1984, s 78 An accused has no entitlement to have evidence excluded simply because it has been obtained unlawfully. To protect an accused...
A party may only rely on an expert to give evidence on an issue that is beyond the knowledge of the judge or jury. A person may only hold themselves out as an expert if...
Identification procedures In every criminal case the prosecution must prove the identity of the person who perpetrated or participated in the commission of an offence....
