Unlawfully obtained evidence Flashcards
Section 78 of PACE provides that if there is a breach of PACE then the evidence will not be admitted.
True or false?
False.
Section 78 provides that in deciding whether to admit evidence, the Judge will have regard to “ the circumstances in which the evidence was obtained”, but does not create a hard and fast rule.
As part of the inherent power and overriding duty in every case to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial, the judge always has a discretion to exclude otherwise admissible prosecution evidence if, in his opinion, its prejudicial effect on the minds of the jury outweighs its true probative value. Which case?
Noor Mohamed v The King
The discretion may only be exercised to exclude evidence on which the prosecution, as opposed to any co-accused, proposes to rely. True or false?
True
If evidence has been obtained illegally it will not be admissible, true or false?
False.
Although in general the court is not concerned with how evidence is obtained, where it is a necessary step towards procuring a conviction for an offence that the evidence be obtained in accordance with a procedure prescribed by statute, evidence obtained other than in accordance with that procedure will not be admissible.
Give an example:
Evidence of drink driving must be obtained correctly under statute.
What is the definition of a confession according to s82 of PACE?
A “confession”, includes any statement wholly or partly adverse to the person who made it, whether made to a person in authority or not and whether made in words or otherwise”.
When are confessions inadmissible?
- If the confession was made by oppression.
2. If the circumstances existing at the time render any confession unreliable.
If it is represented to the court that a confession made by an accused was or may have been obtained by oppression, which is defined to include torture, the court shall not allow the confession to be given in evidence against him. True or false?
True
