A Lucas direction would not have been appropriate, or helpful to the defendant. where an allegation of sexual assault turned wholly on the jury’s assessment of the respective credibility of the defendant and the complainant.
CHARACTER CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE FALSE STATEMENTS JURY DIRECTIONS LUCAS DIRECTIONS SEXUAL ASSAULT
While a judge’s summing-up could have been more clearly expressed, it was not confusing, did not advocate the prosecution case and it did not render the trial unfair. Trial judges were reminded of the guidance and draft directions contained in the Crown Court Compendium. Those directions provided judges with an invaluable resource which, when adapted to the facts of a case, provided an appropriate framework for a legally correct direction.
BAD CHARACTER CRIMINAL PROCEDURE JURY DIRECTIONS LUCAS DIRECTIONS SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH CHILDREN SEXUAL ASSAULT OF CHILD UNDER 13 SUMMING UP
In a case in which the defendant failed to mention in interview a matter on which he later relied in his defence, but that matter was one which the jury might find to be a lie in any event, the judge was right to give a direction which combined elements of a Lucas direction and a direction under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s.34.
CREDIBILITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC ORDER ACT 1994 s.34 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE FALSE STATEMENTS JURY DIRECTIONS LUCAS DIRECTIONS RAPE SENTENCE LENGTH SENTENCING
A jury’s findings on a trial of the facts that a defendant with severe learning difficulties who was unfit to plead had committed two offences of rape were safe, notwithstanding the fact that an extract of the defendant’s police interview had been wrongly admitted as evidence.
ADMISSIBILITY CASE MANAGEMENT CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE RULES 2013 DEFENDANT WITH SEVERE LEARNING DIFFICULTIES AND UNFIT TO PLEAD EXTRACT OF POLICE INTERVIEW WRONGLY ADMITTED AS EVIDENCE ON TRIAL OF FACTS FINDINGS OF FACT FITNESS TO PLEAD LEARNING DISABLED PERSONS LUCAS DIRECTIONS MENTAL HEALTH MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDERS POLICE INTERVIEWS RAPE RAPE ALLEGATIONS SAFETY OF JURY’S FINDINGS SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST MENTALLY DISORDERED PERSONS
A trial judge had a wide discretion as to what warning, if any, he gave to a jury in relation to a witness’s alleged unreliability. In the instant case, the judge had given an adequate and appropriate warning to the jury with regard to the inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence and an admitted lie, and the offender’s conviction for indecent assault and rape was safe.
CREDIBILITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DISCRETION INDECENT ASSAULT JURY DIRECTIONS LIE TOLD BY COMPLAINANT LUCAS DIRECTIONS RAPE SEXUAL ASSAULT OF CHILD UNDER 13 STRENGTH OF WARNING TO JURY AS TO NEED FOR CAUTION WITNESSES
A conviction was quashed where credibility had been the key issue in a sexual offences case and the judge had given an unclear good character direction that was tantamount to a bad character direction.
BAD CHARACTER CLARITY OF DIRECTIONS WHERE CREDIBILITY KEY ISSUE CREDIBILITY CRIMINAL EVIDENCE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DELAY GOOD CHARACTER INDECENT ASSAULT JURY DIRECTIONS LUCAS DIRECTIONS MISDIRECTIONS ON LAW
Deficiencies in a judge’s summing up were such as to render a conviction for historic child sex offences unsafe.
BUGGERY CHILD SEX OFFENCES CRIMINAL PROCEDURE DELAY EFFECT OF DEFICIENCIES IN SUMMING UP ON SAFETY OF CONVICTION FOR HISTORIC CHILD SEX OFFENCES GOOD CHARACTER INDECENCY JURY DIRECTIONS LUCAS DIRECTIONS SUMMING UP
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