Noticeboard
| Published date | 01 January 1998 |
| Date | 01 January 1998 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/136571279800200107 |
| Subject Matter | Noticeboard |
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Leng, School of Law, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL.
Tel.: 01203 523168; Fax: 01203 524105; email R.Leng@Warwick.ac.uk
Cross-examination
of
co-accused about earlier inconsistent statement
The House of Lords have held that an accused person has an absolute right
to cross-examine a co-accused about an earlier voluntary statement
contradicting the co-accused’s evidence in court even where the earlier
statement incriminated the co-accused.
R
v
Myers The Times,
31
July
1997.
Disclosure in criminal proceedings
-
absolute immunity attaching to
documents
Where documents are prepared for the purpose of a criminal investigation
and disclosed to the defence, whether as used
or
unused material, such
documents are immune and any action for defamation,
or
other parasitic
action, based upon the documents, would be barred.
Taylor and another
v
The
Serious Fraud Office,
CA
The Independent,
24
July
1997;
The Times,
27
August
1997.
Disclosure in criminal proceedings
-
no duty to disclose information relevant
to
credibility
of
defence witness
The House of Lords have held that at common law there is no duty on the
prosecution to disclose information which tends to undermine the credibility
of a proposed defence witness. The common law rules
of
disclosure were
based upon the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Fairness had to be seen in the
context of the public interest in the detection and punishment of crime.
Fairness did not require that defence witnesses should be immune from
challenge as to their credibility. Nor did fairness require that the defendant
should be provided with assistance by the Crown in the investigation of the
defence case
or
the selection of defence witnesses.
R
v
Brown The Times,
25
July
1997.
The significance of this decision will diminish as time passes, since where an
investigation into an offence commenced after
1
April
1997,
pre-trial
56
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