英语论文网

ful relationship with a younger girl does not amount to bad character evidence. The Court pointed out that s.103(2), a propensity to commit crime may be proved by evidence of commission of other offences, but is not confined to that. This is also illustrated in R v Renda [11] but in the case of defendants, evidence of misconduct will usually be limited to evidence pertaining to previous convictions.

Before the coming into force of CJA 2003, evidence of bad character of the accused was admissible only with exception and a distinction was drawn between evidence adduced because of relevance to the issue of guilt and credibility of accused as a witness in cross-examination. S.101(1) CJA 2003 provides 7 gateways where (a)the defendant’s bad character is admissible in criminal proceeding if all parties to the proceedings agree to the evidence being admissible; (b)the evidence is adduced by the defendant himself or is given in answer to a question asked by him in cross-examination and intended to elicit it; (c)it is important explanatory evidence; (d)it is relevant to an important matter in issue between the defendant and the prosecution; (e)it has substantial probative value in relation to an important matter in issue between the defendant and a co-defendant; (f)it is evidence to correct a false impression given by the defendant or; (g)the defendant has made an attack on another person’s character. S.101(3) of CJA 2003 provides that the court must not admit evidence under subsection (1)(d) or (g) if on an application by the defendant to exclude it, it appears to the court that the admission of the evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceeding that the court ought not to admit it. In all circumstances other than s.101(1)(d) and (g), The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, s.78 gives the judge discretion to exclude prosecution evidence. [12]

S.101(1) (a) allowed bad character evidence to be admitted by agreement of all parties. S. 101(1)(b) permits evidence of bad character to be admitted by the accused himself without the leave of the court when defence witness gave evidence of defendant’s ad character; when the defendant reveal his previous conviction before trial; when there is no intention to adduce evidence of previous misconduct which amount to bad character. Section 101(1)(c) allows

evidence of the defendant’s bad character to be admitted where it is “important explanatory evidence” designed to reflect the position at common law which admitted what came to be known as “background evidence”. In R v Pettman, [13] Purchas LJ said that for the proposition that evidence showing the defendant’s commission of the offence could be admitted if it was necessary to place it before the jury in order to complete, or make it comprehensible. S.102 further provides that evidence is important explanatory evidence if without it, the court or jury would find it impossible or difficult to understand other evidence in the case and, its value for understanding the case as a whole is substantial. This was slightly different from the common law rule permitting the use of background evidence, notwithstanding that it reveals the bad character evidence of the accused. In R v Edwards, [14] the statement of identification witness to recognise the accused was admitted under s.101(1)(c) providing that it was inevitable that the jury, who would have to be directed as to the caution ne