Hannah Thomas

This Practice Note deals with the common law exceptions for admitting hearsay as evidence in criminal proceedings which are expressly preserved by section 118(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). It details the categories of admissibility including the definition of ‘public information’. It then covers the position in relation to public documents, reputation as to character including bad character and good character. It deals with public statements, reputation evidence, res gestae, including statements accompanying an act, contemporaneous statements accompanying an act, contemporaneous statements relating to physical or mental state, the position in relation to confessions, admissions made by agents, common enterprise and expert evidence.

This Practice Note examines the principles the court will apply in deciding whether identification evidence can be excluded at trial. It identifies common breaches of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984) Code of Practice D, (PACE Code D) and explains the principles that govern the admissibility of dock identifications and recognition evidence. This Practice Note also examines the Turnbull guidelines or Turnbull Direction which must be given in cases where the prosecution relies wholly or substantially on identification or recognition evidence.

This Practice Note explains the disclosure requirements on defendants in criminal proceedings. It explains when a defence statement must be served under section 5 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) and the requirement on the accused to give the prosecution and the court a defence witness notice. The Practice Note also explains the form and content requirements of a defence statement under CPIA 1996, s 5 and the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 (CrimPR), SI 2020/759 as well as the time limits for serving defence disclosure during a criminal prosecution. The contents of a defence witness notice are explained along with the sanctions for non-compliance with the statutory duty of disclosure and the adverse inferences which can be drawn for failure to serve a defence statement are explains. Links to the Law Society practice note: Defence witness notices and the Bar Council: Preparation of Defence Statements guidance are also provided.

This Practice Note explains the obligations placed on the prosecution and the defence to serve disclosure in the magistrates’ courts under the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR). It covers the disclosure of the initial details of the prosecution case (IDPC), prosecution initial disclosure and prosecution secondary disclosure under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) and also explores the extent of the obligations on the defence to serve a defence statement (defence case statement) and to provide defence witness lists in the magistrates’ court.

This Practice Note covers the law in relation to excluding evidence of the defendant's bad character under section 101(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and excluding evidence of 'bad character' under section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984). It deals in particular with evidence of a co-defendant's bad character, whether Article 6 of the ECHR is a bar to admissibility, and whether PACE 1984, s 78 operates to exclude bad character admitted as important explanatory evidence. It then deals with exclusion of evidence under the Criminal Procedure Rules. Finally it cover the forms and time limits for applications to exclude, in particular, applications to exclude the defendant's bad character and objecting to a non-defendant's bad character.

This Practice Note explains the statutory duty on the prosecution of the disclosure of unused evidence in criminal proceedings. It covers when such prosecution disclosure should take place and what unused material should be disclosed. It covers the continuing duty of disclosure and the consequences of a failure to make disclosure of unused evidence. It explains the obligations both on the prosecution and the defence in the context of the statutory regime set out in the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) and the Code of Practice under CPIA 1996 along with the CPS Disclosure Manual, Judicial Protocol on the Disclosure of Unused Material in Criminal Cases, and the Attorney General's guidelines on disclosure. It covers criticisms of the disclosure process, the scheduling of unused non-sensitive and sensitive material, handling electronic material and the disclosure review document.

This Practice Note explains how third-party material needs to be identified in the Defence case statement. It covers the investigators duties under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 Code of Practice to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry and the disclosure obligations of crown servants and the impact of public interest immunity (PII). It explains how to obtain disclosure from a third party directly and how to apply for a witness summons for production of material under the Criminal Procedure Rules. Links are provided to the Disclosure Protocol, Disclosure: A Protocol for the Control and Management of Unused Material in the Crown Court and an explanation of how wasted costs may be awarded in unmeritorious third-party applications for disclosure.

This Practice Note covers the service of prosecution evidence under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA 1998) and the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, SI 2020/759 (CrimPR). It deals with the requirements for the form in which evidence is served and how defence objections are dealt with.

This Flowchart assists criminal law practitioners to determine the admissibility of documentary hearsay in criminal proceedings under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003), section 117. It poses a series of questions for lawyers to consider in assessing whether the evidence is admissible under the documentary hearsay provisions of CJA 2003, s 117.