Top Rape Defence Barrister

A judge had erred in imposing a wasted costs order on a defence barrister after discharging the jury following the barrister’s closing speech. In front of the jury, the barrister had inappropriately criticised the procedure by which questions for young and vulnerable witnesses were formulated in advance, and had also strayed beyond the bounds of […]

It was doubtful whether there was still a rule that prosecuting counsel could not make a closing speech where the accused was unrepresented. It was preferable to approach the issue as a matter of balance and fairness: it was incumbent on a trial judge, faced with an unrepresented accused, to assess all the circumstances of […]