Criminal Submissions Flashcards
S.76 PACE for confessions
Confessions must be excluded when they are obtained by oppression or things said or done which render the confession unreliable.
Oppression is defined as “torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the use or threat of violence” (whether or not amounting to torture)
There must be a causal link between the confession and either of these two.
Burden is on the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that not obtained unreliably!
Hearsay - procedure
Single hearsay - inadmissible unless under statute, rule of law, agreement / interest of parties
Multiple - contained in business document, inconsistent statement or consistent statement, parties agree, interests of justice
Apply test
Bad character - questions to ask
1) Is it evidence of misconduct, commission of offences, or reprehensible behaviour outside fact of offence?
2) If so, does it fall into the CRIMPAS gateways?
3) If “attack on character” or “important issue between prosecution and defence”, court cannot admit it if defence make an application to exclude it + it appears that admitting would have adverse effect on fairness of proceedings
Plea in mitigation
1) Remind court sentence must be proportionate to seriousness of offence
2) ID starting point + range
3) Consider aggravating / mitigating
4) Concurrent if multiple
5) Consider mitigating factors
6) Remind court of credit for a guilty plea
7) Propose appropriate sentence
Submission of no case to answer
1) Burden on prosecution is to prove guilt + all elements made out
2) Evidence prosecution adduced is insufficient for reasonable court to convict (prosecution failed to prove offence / evidence adduced by prosecution is unreliable)
When referring to the client instructions (these are undisclosable)
Need to say “my client contends”
Hearsay - non-common law exceptions
A - agreement of parties (NOTICE)
B - business documents & other docs - where prepared for purpose of proceedings, (NOTICE)
I - Interests of justice (NOTICE)
G - Gone witness (dead, ill, outside UK, lost, afraid) (NOTICE)
C - consistent / inconsistent statements of witness (e.g. where pressured to change statement) (NO NOTICE)
R - reports of experts
E - expert preparatory work (NO NOTICE)
C - co-accused confessions
Hearsay - common law exceptions
NO NOTICE REQUIRED
C - common enterprise
R - reputation as to character (check bad character requirements)
R - res gestae
A - admissions by agent
P - public information
E - expert reliance
D - D’s confessions
Bad character - alternative acronym
A- Agreement
B - Blurts it out - self disclosure of bad character
C - Context - important explanatory evidence
D - Done it before
I - important matter in issue between prosecution and defendant (description or category)
E - ‘E did it - important matter in issue between defendant and co-defendant.
F - False Impression
G - gets at the witness - D made an attack on someone else’s character.
How to object to bad character evidence as defence
s.101 (3) CJA - adverse effect on fairness of proceedings (gateways propensity and counter-attack on another) NON-DISCRETIONARY
s.78 PACE
Length of time (s.103(3), s.101(4)) e.g. with propensity
Untruthful does not equal dishonest - must be deception / false statements
Point out differences in convictions for propensity
What do sections 103(3) and s.101(4) of CJA do (bad character)
103 (3) = previous convictions will not be considered as evidence of bad character if unjust after length of time
101 (4) = court must consider length of time
Statute for bad character evidence
101 CJA
