ac2.3 understand rules in relation to the use of evidence in criminal cases

Question 1

what is reliability of evidence

Answer 1

evidence must be:
- credible, believed by a reasonable person
- authentic, genuine
- accurate, correct in all details

Question 2

what is relevance of evidence

Answer 2

• the laws make a distinction between two types of fact in a trial, facts in issue and relevant facts

Question 3

what is facts in issue

Answer 3

• the matters which are in dispute in a case and which the court has to decide about
• facts that the prosecution attempts to prove and the defence to disprove

Question 4

what are relevant facts

Answer 4

• facts that are needed in order to prove or disprove the facts in issue

Question 5

admissibility of evidence- illegally obtained evidence

Answer 5

• gained by breaking the law or violating a person’s human rights
• would include evidence obtained in an illegal search conducted without a warrant and using torture or degrading treatment to obtain a confession

Question 6

admissibility of evidence - improperly obtained evidence

Answer 6

• includes the use of entrapment, where police use deception to persuade a suspect to commit or admit to a crime
• may also occur in ‘sting’ operations mounted by police, where an undercover officer poses as a criminal and induces a suspect to commit crime

Question 7

the process of permitting illegally or improperly obtained evidence

Answer 7

• court in fact can permit this evidence if it helps to discover the truth
• if it endangers a fair trial the judge can rule it out as inadmissible
• if the probative value of the evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect, the judge will allow it to be used

Question 8

what is the right to remain silence?

Answer 8

• the accused does not have to prove their innocence, they have the fundamental human right to remain silent

Question 9

criminal justice and public order act 1994 allowed jury to draw inferences about a defendants guilt under what circumstances?

Answer 9

• failure to answer police questions, when questioned under caution failure to answer, failing to account for a particular object in their possession or for their presence in a particular place, can be used as evidence to infer the defendant’s guilt
• failure to testify in court, may be used to infer the defendant’s guilt, unless they can give a reason for not doing so that the jury finds acceptable

Question 10

when character evidence is admitted

Answer 10

• only admitted under certain circumstances, where it shows the defendant has a tendency to lie or to commit similar offences to those they are charged with

Question 11

criminal justice act 2003 - definition of bad character

Answer 11

• ‘evidence of or disposition towards misconduct’
• misconduct includes previous convictions and cautions e.g racism, bullying, bad disciplinary record, having a child taken into care
• CJA also permits character evidence to prove the defendant’s good character

Question 12

contaminated evidence of bad character

Answer 12

• if the judge decides that the evidence of the defendant’s bad character is contaminated they may direct the jury to acquit the defendant or order re-trial

Question 13

disclosure of evidence

Answer 13

• law puts a duty on the prosecution to disclose evidence to the defence so that they can prepare to answer the case against them

Question 14

the prosecution’s duty of disclosure

Answer 14

• notify the accused of all the evidence they intend to rely on
• make available to the defence any unused material relevant to the case that they do not intend to present to the court

Question 15

what is unused material

Answer 15

• includes anything that might undermine the prosecutions own case or assist the defence’s case

Question 16

failure to disclose evidence

Answer 16

• number of cases where charges were dropped due to the failure to disclose evidence have increased
• could be an increasing problem as digital evidence becomes increasingly important
• police have sometimes deliberately withheld such evidence when they firmly believed the accused is guilty, amounts to perverting the course of justice and is a criminal offence

Question 17

limits to disclosure, public interest immunity

Answer 17

• prosecution may seek a public-interest immunity certificate from the court
• PII certificates exempts them from having to disclose sensitive materials that pose a real risk to an important public interest

Question 18

defence’s duty of disclosure

Answer 18

• defence must disclose certain information
• nature of defence they intend to offer, any matters of fact they will rely on or will challenge, any points of law
• do not have to disclose unused material

Question 19

hearsay evidence

Answer 19

• a statement that has been made by someone out of court to a witness who is appearing in court which the witness wishes to rely on as evidence of a fact

Question 20

exceptions where hearsay evidence can be admissible

Answer 20

• where all parties (prosecution, defence, judge) agree
• where the judge rules that it is in the interests of justice
• where the common law permits it
• where a witness is absent abroad, dead, unfit to testify due to fear or to their bodily or mental condition, or has disappeared