“Prosecuting lawyers and barristers will be allowed to interview their witnesses before the start of a trial to assess the reliability of their evidence.”
BBC News, 27th November 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The coroner in the Princess Diana inquest has said he may appeal against a ruling blocking the use of statements from paparazzi who refuse to attend.”
BBC News, 20th November 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regina v Cartwright [2007] EWCA Crim 2581
“The restrictions imposed by s 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 on the calling of evidence of, and cross-examination as to, complainants’ sexual history applied to trials conducted after the coming into force of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, in respect of sexual offences allegedly committed before that date, even though the latter statute failed to contain a saving provision specifically to that effect.”
WLR Daily, 7th November 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is under growing pressure to investigate the leaking of new evidence on the killing of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence, just hours before a report criticised the head of the Metropolitan Police for obstructing an inquiry into the Stockwell shooting.”
The Independent, 10th November 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“A barrister suggested yesterday that Scotland Yard might have leaked news about a breakthrough in the Stephen Lawrence murder case to deflect criticism from the report into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.”
Daily Telegraph, 11th November 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The lawyer representing the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has called for an inquiry into the release of fresh details of the investigation.”
BBC News, 9th November 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The five suspects in the racially motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence could be rearrested after a ‘breathtaking’ forensic breakthrough, it emerged last night.”
The Times, 8th November 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Home Secretary has instructed an independent review to consider whether allowing wire-tap evidence in court would jeopardise secret eavesdropping methods.”
The Times, 5th November 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Two high-profile murders of young women which took place more than 30 years ago have been linked by DNA evidence. Scotland Yard are hoping that the link could lead to the solving of the murders of a Playboy bunny and a schoolgirl.”
The Guardian, 26th September 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The pathologist who failed to disclose test results on one of Sally Clark’s babies which could have pointed to a death from natural causes has won the right to stay on the register of Home Office-accredited pathologists.”
The Guardian, 6th September 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Limiting out-of-court statements
Persaud v. State of Trinidad and Tobago
“The exception to the rule that out-of-court statements made by one defendant were inadmissible against a codefendant applied only where the defendants were being tried for an offence for which they were jointly liable.”
The Times, 7th August 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Persaud v. State of Trinidad and Tobago
“The exception to the rule that out of court statements made by one defendant were inadmissible against a co-defendant applied only in cases where the defendants were being tried for a joint offence for which they were jointly liable.”
WLR Daily, 23rd July 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been reported in one of theICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Director of Public Prosecutions v. Lawrence
“The provisions of Code C of the Codes of Practice under s 66 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 were not directed to what a defendant was alleged to have said as part of the conduct constituting the alleged crime but to what a defendant was alleged to have said on or after arrest.”
WLR Daily, 16th July 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
R v. Campbell [2007] EWCA Crim 1472
“If a defendant’s previous convictions were admitted in evidence, the jury could attach significance to them in any respect in which they were relevant and relevance could normally be deduced by the application of common sense. The mere fact that there was an issue as to whether a defendant’s case was truthful did not mean that evidence could be admitted to show that he had a propensity to be untruthful.”
WLR Daily, 26th June 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Pressure is growing for a full public inquiry into the Lockerbie disaster, in response to new evidence that suggests a miscarriage of justice took place in the trial of the Libyan convicted of the bombing.”
The Times, 25th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Scientific evidence which helped convict Barry George of the murder of the BBC presenter Jill Dando six years ago has since been codified by the government’s Forensic Science Service as “of no value”, the Guardian understands.”
The Guardian, 21st June 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
When accused tries to import victim’s sexual history
Privy Council
“A Scottish statute providing that when a court gave permission for a person accused of certain sexual offences to lead evidence of the alleged victim’s previous sexual history, there was a presumption in favour of laying before the jury the accused’s previous convictions for sexual offences unless he could show that such disclosure would not be in the interests of justice, or would prejudice his right to a fair trial.”
The Times, 12th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Power to exclude evidence of probative value
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
“Cases would be rare in which a breach of procedural rules would entitle a court to exclude evidence of substantial probative value and a court should be most reluctant to exclude evidence of that quality for such a breach; nevertheless there would be cases where the only way in which the court could ensure fairness was by excluding evidence even of substantial probative value.”
The Times, 11th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“The UK government is looking to make wiretap evidence admissible in court as part of its latest review of anti-terrorism legislation.”
OUT-LAW.com, 8th June 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
Shierson and another v. Rastogi [2007] EWHC 1266 (Ch.)
The principle that judicial findings made in a previous case were not admissible in later proceedings as evidence of facts found only applied where a party in the second proceedings had not had opportunity, by himself or his privy, to challenge evidence adduced in the first hearing.
WLR Daily, 25th May 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
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