Criminal Law & Practice Flashcards
What are the four circumstances in which hearsay evidence is admissible in criminal proceedings?
Statute
Rule of law
Agreement
Interests of justice
What are the statutory gateways to the admissibility of hearsay evidence?
- Unavailable witness (including through fear)
- Business documents
- Previous consistent or inconsistent statements
- Expert evidence
- Confessions
- Statements were prepared for use in criminal proceedings and the relevant person cannot be expected to recollect the matter
What are the rule of law gateways to admissibility?
- Statement a witness heard contemporaneously to the offence
- Res gestae
- Confessions or mixed statements
Under only what circumstances can multiple hearsay be admissible?
- It is a business document
- It is a consistent or inconsistent statement
- All parties agree
- The value of the evidence is so high that it is in the interests of justice
What is the definition of hearsay?
A statement not made in oral evidence that is relied on as evidence of the matter in it
What are the circumstances under which a witness is deemed unavailable for the purposes of admitting evidence as hearsay under statute?
- Dead
- Unfit
- Outside the UK and it is not practicable to secure their attendance
- Unable to be found although such steps as it is reasonably practicable to take to find them have been taken.
- The person does not give oral evidence through fear
In respect of admission of hearsay evidence under the statutory ground that the witness is unavailable through fear, what conditions are required to be met before evidence can be admitted under this provision?
- The court considers it is in the interests of justice to admit the statement.
- The fear must not have been provoked by the party seeking to adduce the evidence.
What are the two primary types of res gestae?
- Statements made by a witness that was so emotionally overpowered by an event that the possibility of concoction or distortion can be disregarded.
- Statements accompanying an act which can only be properly evaluated in conjunction with the statement.
What is a confession?
Any statement which is at least partly adverse to the person who made it.
What is required for a confession to be admissible?
If the confession is relevant to a matter in issue.
On what grounds can the defence challenge the admissibility of a confession?
s76 PACE:
- Mistake
- Untruth (includes confessions obtained by oppression or things said and done likely to render the confession unreliable.
What must the defence show if a challenge to a confession under s76 PACE is based on oppression or things said and done likely to render the confession unreliable?
That there is a causal link between the oppression or the things said or done and the confession made.
When the admissibility of a confession is challenged by the defence, what do the prosecution have to prove?
The burden is on the prosecution to show beyond reasonable doubt that neither oppression nor things said or done likely to render the confession unreliable apply.
If the prosecution fails to discharge the burden. The court MUST exclude the evidence.
What power does the court have under s78 PACE
To exclude evidence offered by the prosecution, if it appears to the court, considering all the circumstances, that admission of the evidence would have an adverse effect on the fairness of proceedings.
This power is discretionary - the court may but need not exclude for unfairness.
The court will usually not exercise its discretion to exclude unless the breaches are significant and substantial and have rendered the evidence unreliable.
What are the 7 gateways of admissibility of bad character evidence?
- All party agreement
- Evidence adduced by the defendant
- Important explanatory evidence
- Relevant to an important matter in issue
- Matter in issue between co-defendant’s
- Correct false impression given by the defendant
- Defendant attacked another’s character
