Where the admission of hearsay evidence of a person who had died was sought under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 s.116(2)(a), in the proviso in s.116(5), that if the circumstances (namely that person’s death) were caused “(a) by the person in support of whose case it is sought to give the statement…” [then the evidence would be inadmissible], “person” meant the defendant or somebody acting on his behalf, not the deceased person.
ADMISSIBILITY BEST EVIDENCE CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DISCHARGE OF JURY GOOD CHARACTER HEARSAY EVIDENCE SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH CHILDREN SUICIDE
A conviction for sexual assault was safe, even though a central piece of evidence for the prosecution was the hearsay statement of the two-and-a-half-year-old victim. The statement had properly been admitted under the Criminal Justice (Evidence) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 art.18(1)(d) and the judge had given appropriate directions to the jury about how it was to be treated.
ADMISSIBILITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DISCHARGE OF JURY HEARSAY EVIDENCE JURY DIRECTIONS RES GESTAE SEVERANCE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF CHILD UNDER 13
Although part of prosecuting counsel’s cross-examination of a rape defendant, related to bad character and based on inadmissible hearsay evidence, had been misjudged and regrettable, it had not affected the overall fairness of the proceedings or the safety of the verdict.
ADMISSIBILITY BAD CHARACTER CAUTIONS CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CROSS-EXAMINATION DETENTION FOR PUBLIC PROTECTION EFFECT ON OVERALL FAIRNESS OF PROCEEDINGS AND SAFETY OF CONVICTION HEARSAY EVIDENCE INTRODUCTION OF INADMISSIBLE HEARSAY EVIDENCE DURING CROSS-EXAMINATION OF RAPE DEFENDANT RAPE SENTENCING SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH CHILDREN YOUNG OFFENDERS
A Crown Court judge presiding over a retrial had been wrong to designate a pre-trial hearing as a preparatory hearing, and so the Court of Appeal lacked jurisdiction to hear the defendants’ interlocutory appeal against his ruling that the complainant’s police interview and cross-examination at the original trial could be admitted as hearsay evidence at the retrial.
ADMISSIBILITY COMPLAINANT’S REFUSAL TO ATTEND RETRIAL COMPLEXITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 s.114(1)(d) CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND INVESTIGATIONS ACT 1996 s.29 DESIGNATION AS PREPARATORY HEARING HEARSAY EVIDENCE JURISDICTION PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS PREPARATORY HEARINGS RULING AT HEARING ON ADMISSIBILITY OF COMPLAINANT’S EARLIER EVIDENCE AS HEARSAY s.114 s.114(2) s.114(2)(g) s.116 s.116(2) s.116(2)(b) s.116(2)(e) s.13(1) s.1311(1)(c) s.29(1) s.3(5) s.31 s.35(1) s.40 s.40(4) s.91(1) SERIOUSNESS AND LIKELY LENGTH OF TRIAL SERIOUSNESS OF OFFENCE SEXUAL OFFENCES
Convictions for rape and indecent assault were quashed where the Crown’s reliance on hearsay evidence of bad character in the form of statements containing allegations of rape had circumvented the restrictions on hearsay evidence in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
ADMISSIBILITY ADMISSIBILITY UNDER S.114 AND S.116 CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 BAD CHARACTER CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 s.114(1)(d) HEARSAY EVIDENCE HEARSAY EVIDENCE CONTAINING UNPROVEN ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT Part 2 PREJUDICE RAPE s.101 s.114(1) s.114(2) s.114(2)(g) s.116 s.116(1) s.116(2) s.116(2)(a) s.116(2)(e) s.116(4) s.116(4)(b) s.9(8)
The appellant’s convictions for indecent assaults against young girls over 30 years ago were safe. His sentence would be reduced from seven years to four and a half years as these were not the most serious offences of their kind.
ADMISSIBILITY ALIBI DIRECTION ALIBIS APPEAL AGAINST CONVICTION APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE APPROPRIATE SENTENCE LENGTH CHARACTER DIRECTION CIVIL EVIDENCE COLLUSION OF WITNESSES CREDIBILITY CRIMINAL APPEALS CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1988 s.23 CRIMINAL LAW DELAY DELAY BETWEEN OFFENCES AND TRIAL FAILURE TO GIVE ALIBI DIRECTION HEARSAY HEARSAY EVIDENCE INDECENT ASSAULT INDECENT ASSAULTS AGAINST CHILDREN JUDGE’S DIRECTIONS JURY DIRECTIONS LEAVE TO ADDUCE HEARSAY EVIDENCE REFUSED PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS PROPENSITY SELECTIVE INTRODUCTION SENTENCING SEXUAL OFFENCES TIME WITNESS STATEMENTS
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