Confessions Flashcards
What statute defines a confession?
Section 82(1) PACE
Which authority defines the strength of confession evidence?
Which authority deals with confessions of mixed statements?
Sharp 1988
When is a confession admissible?
Section 76(1) PACE
“In any proceedings a confession made by an accused person may be given in evidence against him in so far as it is relevant to a matter in issue and is not excluded by the court in pursuance of this section”
What are some common rules for a confession?
- Must be based on known facts - Hulbert (1979)
- This does not mean a confession must always consist of fact not opinion. If the opinion is admissible as non-expert opinion, it will be admissible as a confession - Chatwood 1980
- Only admissible against the accused who made it, is generally no evidence against a co-accused - Logan v R 1995
What can the judge do if a co-accused disagrees with the confession made by the accused.
- The judge may order severance - a separate trial. Generally not in public interest- Gunewardene 1951
- failing that, he must direct the jury that the parts in the confession are not admissible against D2
The exception to this is that the statements of D1, made in pursuance of a common purpose are evidence against D2 also.
the other exception is Section 76A PACE
When is a confession excluded?
A confession will be excluded as a matter of law if Section 76(2) is breached or may be excluded as a matter of discretion under s78
How does Section 76(8) define Oppression?
“In this section “oppression” includes torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, and the use of violence.”
Fulling 1987: Oppression should be given its ordinary dictionary meaning.
Seelig 1991
Paris 1992
How does S76(2) define unreliability?
The definition is very vague. Useful guidelines were outlined in Barry 1992
- Identify what was said or done to the defendant.
- was this, likely in the circumstances, to render unreliable a confession made in consequence: test is objective
- have the prosecution proved b.r.d that the confession was not obtained inconsequence of the thing said or done: question of fact
What principles have been established by case law regarding unreliability?
- Although objective, mental or physics, or personality abnormalities of the accused may be relieve
- breaches of Code C and Code E (omission) can amount to “things done”. Simply because a code has been breached does not make the confession unreliable
- needs to be a causal link between the thing done or omission and the confession
How does a judge decide on the admissibility of a confession?
- Judge decides on admissibility by a Voir Dire
- defendsnt should not be asked in the voir dire whether the confession was true.
- a defendant’s answers during the voir dire are not admissible during the full trial if the confession is excluded - Wong Kim-Ming 1980
- if admitted the defence can ask questions of the interviewing officer in the trial which are the same as they asked in the voir dire when challenging admissibility - Mushtaq 2007
What effect does the exclusion of a confession have on the trial?
Section 76(4)(a)(b) and (5)
What discretion is there to exclude a confession?
Section 78 provides a wider discretion to exclude evidence.
What happens if a confession was obtained after an injustified refusal of access to legal advice?
Section 58 - Right to Legal Advice
- Deliberate flouting of the rules would normally lead to an exclusion. If a breach was not deliberate and the accused was not prejudiced by the absence of a solicitor then the court can decline to exclude under S78; Parris 1989
- A confession can be relied on even if made before the opportunity to obtain legal advice.
- McGovern and Dunford (1990) - two contrasting examples
