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109 Credibility | |
(1) This section applies if in criminal proceedings— | |
(a) a statement not made in oral evidence in the proceedings is admitted as | |
evidence of a matter stated, and | |
(b) the maker of the statement does not give oral evidence in connection | 5 |
with the subject matter of the statement. | |
(2) In such a case— | |
(a) any evidence which (if he had given such evidence) would have been | |
admissible as relevant to his credibility as a witness is so admissible in | |
the proceedings; | 10 |
(b) evidence may with the court’s leave be given of any matter which (if he | |
had given such evidence) could have been put to him in cross- | |
examination as relevant to his credibility as a witness but of which | |
evidence could not have been adduced by the cross-examining party; | |
(c) evidence tending to prove that he made (at whatever time) any other | 15 |
statement inconsistent with the statement admitted as evidence is | |
admissible for the purpose of showing that he contradicted himself. | |
(3) If as a result of evidence admitted under this section an allegation is made | |
against the maker of a statement, the court may permit a party to lead | |
additional evidence of such description as the court may specify for the | 20 |
purposes of denying or answering the allegation. | |
(4) In the case of a statement in a document which is admitted as evidence under | |
section 102 each person who, in order for the statement to be admissible, must | |
have supplied or received the information concerned or created or received the | |
document or part concerned is to be treated as the maker of the statement for | 25 |
the purposes of subsections (1) to (3) above. | |
110 Stopping the case where evidence is unconvincing | |
(1) If on a defendant’s trial before a judge and jury for an offence the court is | |
satisfied at any time after the close of the case for the prosecution that— | |
(a) the case against the defendant is based wholly or partly on a statement | 30 |
not made in oral evidence in the proceedings, and | |
(b) the evidence provided by the statement is so unconvincing that, | |
considering its importance to the case against the defendant, his | |
conviction of the offence would be unsafe, | |
the court must either direct the jury to acquit the defendant of the offence or, if | 35 |
it considers that there ought to be a retrial, discharge the jury. | |
(2) Where— | |
(a) a jury is directed under subsection (1) to acquit a defendant of an | |
offence, and | |
(b) the circumstances are such that, apart from this subsection, the | 40 |
defendant could if acquitted of that offence be found guilty of another | |
offence, | |
the defendant may not be found guilty of that other offence if the court is | |
satisfied as mentioned in subsection (1) in respect of it. | |
(3) If— | 45 |
(a) a jury is required to determine under section 4A(2) of the Criminal | |
Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 (c. 84) whether a person charged on an | |
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(a) indictment with an offence did the act or made the omission charged, | |
and | |
(b) the court is satisfied as mentioned in subsection (1) above at any time | |
after the close of the case for the prosecution that— | |
(i) the case against the defendant is based wholly or partly on a | 5 |
statement not made in oral evidence in the proceedings, and | |
(ii) the evidence provided by the statement is so unconvincing that, | |
considering its importance to the case against the person, a | |
finding that he did the act or made the omission would be | |
unsafe, | 10 |
the court must either direct the jury to acquit the defendant of the offence or, if | |
it considers that there ought to be a rehearing, discharge the jury. | |
(4) This section does not prejudice any other power a court may have to direct a | |
jury to acquit a person of an offence or to discharge a jury. | |
111 Court’s general discretion to exclude evidence | 15 |
(1) In criminal proceedings the court may refuse to admit a statement as evidence | |
of a matter stated if— | |
(a) the statement was made otherwise than in oral evidence in the | |
proceedings, and | |
(b) the court is satisfied that the case for excluding the statement, taking | 20 |
account of the danger that to admit it would result in undue waste of | |
time, substantially outweighs the case for admitting it, taking account | |
of the value of the evidence. | |
(2) Nothing in this Chapter prejudices— | |
(a) any power of a court to exclude evidence under section 78 of the Police | 25 |
and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60) (exclusion of unfair evidence), | |
or | |
(b) any other power of a court to exclude evidence at its discretion | |
(whether by preventing questions from being put or otherwise). | |
Miscellaneous | 30 |
112 Expert evidence: preparatory work | |
(1) This section applies if— | |
(a) a statement has been prepared for the purposes of criminal | |
proceedings, | |
(b) the person who prepared the statement had or may reasonably be | 35 |
supposed to have had personal knowledge of the matters stated, | |
(c) notice is given under the appropriate rules that another person (the | |
expert) will in evidence given in the proceedings orally or under section | |
9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 (c. 80) base an opinion or inference on | |
the statement, and | 40 |
(d) the notice gives the name of the person who prepared the statement | |
and the nature of the matters stated. | |
(2) In evidence given in the proceedings the expert may base an opinion or | |
inference on the statement. | |
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(3) If evidence based on the statement is given under subsection (2) the statement | |
is to be treated as evidence of what it states. | |
(4) This section does not apply if the court, on an application by a party to the | |
proceedings, orders that it is not in the interests of justice that it should apply. | |
(5) The matters to be considered by the court in deciding whether to make an | 5 |
order under subsection (4) include— | |
(a) the expense of calling as a witness the person who prepared the | |
statement; | |
(b) whether relevant evidence could be given by that person which could | |
not be given by the expert; | 10 |
(c) whether that person can reasonably be expected to remember the | |
matters stated well enough to give oral evidence of them. | |
(6) Subsections (1) to (5) apply to a statement prepared for the purposes of a | |
criminal investigation as they apply to a statement prepared for the purposes | |
of criminal proceedings, and in such a case references to the proceedings are to | 15 |
criminal proceedings arising from the investigation. | |
(7) The appropriate rules are rules made— | |
(a) under section 81 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60) | |
(advance notice of expert evidence in Crown Court), or | |
(b) under section 144 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) by virtue | 20 |
of section 20(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 | |
(c. 25) (advance notice of expert evidence in magistrates’ courts). | |
113 Confessions | |
(1) In the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 the following section is inserted | |
after section 76— | 25 |
“76A Confessions may be given in evidence for co-accused | |
(1) In any proceedings a confession made by an accused person may be | |
given in evidence for another person charged in the same proceedings | |
(a co-accused) in so far as it is relevant to any matter in issue in the | |
proceedings and is not excluded by the court in pursuance of this | 30 |
section. | |
(2) If, in any proceedings where a co-accused proposes to give in evidence | |
a confession made by an accused person, it is represented to the court | |
that the confession was or may have been obtained— | |
(a) by oppression of the person who made it; or | 35 |
(b) in consequence of anything said or done which was likely, in | |
the circumstances existing at the time, to render unreliable any | |
confession which might be made by him in consequence | |
thereof, | |
the court shall not allow the confession to be given in evidence for the | 40 |
co-accused except in so far as it is proved to the court on the balance of | |
probabilities that the confession (notwithstanding that it may be true) | |
was not so obtained. | |
(3) Before allowing a confession made by an accused person to be given in | |
evidence for a co-accused in any proceedings, the court may of its own | 45 |
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(3) motion require the fact that the confession was not obtained as | |
mentioned in subsection (2) above to be proved in the proceedings on | |
the balance of probabilities. | |
(4) The fact that a confession is wholly or partly excluded in pursuance of | |
this section shall not affect the admissibility in evidence— | 5 |
(a) of any facts discovered as a result of the confession; or | |
(b) where the confession is relevant as showing that the accused | |
speaks, writes or expresses himself in a particular way, of so | |
much of the confession as is necessary to show that he does so. | |
(5) Evidence that a fact to which this subsection applies was discovered as | 10 |
a result of a statement made by an accused person shall not be | |
admissible unless evidence of how it was discovered is given by him or | |
on his behalf. | |
(6) Subsection (5) above applies— | |
(a) to any fact discovered as a result of a confession which is wholly | 15 |
excluded in pursuance of this section; and | |
(b) to any fact discovered as a result of a confession which is partly | |
so excluded, if the fact is discovered as a result of the excluded | |
part of the confession. | |
(7) In this section “oppression” includes torture, inhuman or degrading | 20 |
treatment, and the use or threat of violence (whether or not amounting | |
to torture).” | |
(2) Subject to subsection (1), nothing in this Chapter makes a confession by a | |
defendant admissible if it would not be admissible under section 76 of the | |
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60). | 25 |
(3) In subsection (2) “confession” has the meaning given by section 82 of that Act. | |
114 Representations other than by a person | |
(1) Where a representation of any fact— | |
(a) is made otherwise than by a person, but | |
(b) depends for its accuracy on information supplied (directly or | 30 |
indirectly) by a person, | |
the representation is not admissible in criminal proceedings as evidence of the | |
fact unless it is proved that the information was accurate. | |
(2) Subsection (1) does not affect the operation of the presumption that a | |
mechanical device has been properly set or calibrated. | 35 |
115 Depositions | |
In Schedule 3 to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37), sub-paragraph (4) of | |
paragraph 5 is omitted (power of the court to overrule an objection to a | |
deposition being read as evidence by virtue of that paragraph). | |
116 Evidence at retrial | 40 |
For paragraphs 1 and 1A of Schedule 2 to the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (c. 19) | |
(oral evidence and use of transcripts etc at retrials under that Act) there is | |
substituted— | |
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