Disclosure Flashcards
Disclosure
Disclosure refers to providing the defence with copies of, or access to, any material which might reasonably be considered capable of undermining the case for the prosecution against accused, or of assisting in the case for the accused, and which has not previously been disclosed.
Un-used material
The police must retain and record any unused material.
Police reveal all relevant information to the CPS, through the processes we will outline in the rest of this session.
The CPS then decide what items to ‘disclose’ to the defence.
Police roles in an investigation
o Officer in charge
o Investigator
o Disclosure officer
All role may be carried out by a single person, three different people or a combination.
The 4 R’S
- Record
- Retain
- Review/reasonable enquires
- Reveal
What material do we take to court
o Statements
o Exhibits
o Relevant MG forms
Definition of relevance
Material may be relevant to an investigation if it appears that is has some bearing on any offence under investigation, or any person being investigated or on the surrounding circumstances on the case unless it is incapable of having any impact on the case.
Rebuttable presumption
A rebuttable presumption exists where the law requires a court to presume something in the case until evidence is addicted that proves otherwise. A rebuttable presumption in criminal proceedings can either work in favour or against an accused.
Therefore, we have to routinely share material with the CPS so they can assess it for themselves and agree or disagree with our assessment.
If the CPS decide not to disclose any of this material, they will need to provide justification for not doing so.
MG6C
Schedule of non sensitive unused material
MG6D
Schedule of sensitive unused material
MG6E -
Schedule of disclosure material
The disclosure test
Material capable of undermining the prosecution
