R v Evans: An Uneasy Precedent?
| Author | Ann-Marie Sous |
| Position | LLB (London School of Economics and Political Science) '20 and Notes Editor (Criminal) at the LSE Law Review 2019-2020 |
| Pages | 90-98 |
LSE LAW REVIEW
2020
90
R v Evans: An Uneasy Precedent?
Ann-Marie Sous*
INTRODUCTION
In this piece, I discuss the recent case of R v Evans, in which the Court of
Appeal allowed the defence to adduc e evidence regarding the complainants’
sexual history with third parties in the context of a rape trial. I will assess the
academic debate surrounding the controversy the case brought through the
expansion of s 41(3)(c) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to
allow such evidence to be adduced. As such expansion has been criticised on the
basis that it has created a tension between the complaina nt’s right to privacy and
the defendant’s right to a fair trial, I will outline the criticism of Evans by various
academics, addressing whether these criticisms are sound, and put forward my
ideas regarding how the problems of Evans can be resolved (i.e. through a cultural
change, as opposed to legislative change).
In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases involving victims
of sexual offences speaking out. It appears therefore timely to review the current
law of evidence in this specific context. In particular, the current law concerning
sexual history evidence (SHE) has been criticised on the basis that the ruling in R
v Evans
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extends the law too far such that it imbalances the trial by working to the
detriment of the complainant, particularly her right to privacy. Indeed, there has
been a sense that Evans has led to a regression in the law. The Youth Justice and
Criminal Evidence Act 1999 was implemented to protect complainants and
* LLB (London School of Economics and Political Science) ‘20 and Notes Editor
(Criminal) at the LSE Law Review 2019-2020. This work was initially inspired by LSE’s
Law of Evidence class content. This piece was origi nally published on the LSE Law
Review Blog at: <https://blog.lselawreview.com/2019/11/r-evans-uneasy-precedent/>.
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