12. The rule against hearsay III

Admissions and confessions are the most important common law exceptions to the rule against hearsay. Section 118(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 preserves any rule of law relating to the admissibility of admissions made by agents in criminal proceedings. This chapter is divided into two parts, the first of which discusses admissions, covering the principles of admissibility; what admissions may bind a party; and what may be proved by admission. The second part deals with confessions, covering the admissibility of confessions; the exclusion of confessions; evidence yielded by inadmissible confessions; excluded confessions as relevant non-hearsay evidence; confessions by the mentally handicapped and those otherwise impaired; the Codes of Practice and the discretionary exclusion of confessions; the use of confessions by co-accused; confessions implicating co-accused; and partly adverse (‘mixed’) statements.

10. The rule against hearsay I

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the rule against hearsay, covering the definition of hearsay; the dangers of hearsay evidence; the development of exceptions and reform of rule. The second part explains how the hearsay rule operates by distinguishing hearsay and non-hearsay statements and, therefore, discusses: a statement having legal effect or significance; a statement admissible to prove that it was made or was made on a particular occasion or in a certain way; a statement as circumstantial evidence of state of mind; a statement as circumstantial evidence of other relevant facts; three classic hearsay problems; and the use of avoidance and evasion.

6. Witnesses

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part discusses the law on witness competence and compatibility. The general rule of law in England and Wales is that all witnesses, including children, are competent (able to give evidence) and witnesses are also compellable (liable to be required to give evidence subject to sanction for contempt). Particular rules apply to children and persons under disability, the accused in a criminal case, and spouses and civil partners. The second part deals with oaths and affirmations, covering the requirement of sworn evidence; the effect of oaths and affirmations; and exceptions to the requirement of sworn evidence.

4. The burden and standard of proof

This first part of the chapter discusses the concept of burden of proof, covering the legal or persuasive burden of proof; the evidential burden; the effect of presumptions on the burden of proof; the legal burden of proof in civil cases; the evidential burden in civil cases; the burden of proof in criminal cases; defence burdens of proof before Lambert; defence burdens of proof after Lambert; and the burden of proof of secondary facts. The second part of the chapter discusses the standard of proof, covering standard of proof required of prosecution in criminal cases; standard of proof required of defence; standard of proof of secondary facts; the standard of proof in civil cases; and the standard of proof in matrimonial and family cases.

2. The language of the law of evidence

This chapter discusses the following: the basic terminology of the law of evidence and the often inconsistent use of these terms; the terminology of the qualities of evidence, including the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence; hearsay evidence; documentary evidence (both primary and secondary); real evidence, including material objects, demeanour, appearance, and views of the locus in quo; the terminology of the form of evidence (oral, documentary and real evidence); the terminology of facts to be proved; facts in issue; facts forming part of the res gestae; facts relevant to facts in issue; standards of comparison; and the terminology of admissibility and weight.

18. Public interest immunity and privilege I

This chapter first discusses the different rules governing public interest immunity and privilege, focusing on the waiver of the right to withhold and the use of secondary evidence if the original is immune from production and inadvertent disclosure. It then turns to public interest in both civil and criminal cases, covering applications to withhold material subject to public interest immunity; ‘affairs of state’ cases; whether the court can question the claim to withhold and by what criteria the claim to withhold should be judged; closed material procedures; the use of methods such as redaction to minimise the effect of a refusal to disclose documents; information given for the detection of crime, etc.; and confidentiality.

14. Character evidence I

This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the uses and development of character evidence from the common law through to the codification provided by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The second section deals with evidence of character in civil cases, covering defamation cases; evidence of good character; and evidence of bad character. The third section focuses on evidence of good character in criminal cases, including the important case of Hunter [2015] 1 WLR 5367, and covers admissibility and methods of proof; kinds of evidence permitted; rebuttal of evidence of good character; and evidential value of evidence of good character.

13. The rule against hearsay IV

The rules applicable to confessions are not necessarily applicable to all statements made by a suspect when confronted with his suspected involvement in an offence, because not all such statements are even partly inculpatory. Two situations are of particular importance: those in which the accused denies the allegations put to him, and those in which he remains silent in the face of the allegations. This chapter discusses the following: the accused’s denials; the accused’s silence at common law; the accused’s failure to mention facts when questioned or charged; the accused’s failure to account for objects, substances, or marks; and the accused’s failure to account for their presence at the scene of the offence.

7. Examination in chief

Examination in chief is the process whereby a party, who has called a witness to give evidence on his behalf, elicits from that witness evidence relevant to the issues and favourable to the examiner’s case. This chapter discusses the following: the nature and conduct of examination in chief; memory-refreshing by the witness; previous consistent statements; identification evidence; the Turnbull Guidelines on identification; unfavourable and hostile witnesses; and presentation of evidence by non-traditional means. The courts make increasing use of ‘special measures’ to assist witnesses in giving evidence, for example, through the use of intermediaries, live links and Achieving Best Evidence interviews.

5. Proof without evidence

This chapter examines cases in which a court will, or may, find facts in issue or relevant facts established without requiring proof by means of evidence. Specifically, it considers cases in which: (a) facts are formally admitted for the purpose of the proceedings, i.e. are taken to be proved without the need for evidence; (b) notorious or readily demonstrable facts are noticed judicially by the court, i.e. are facts of which the court will acknowledge the truth without the necessity for proof; and (c) facts are presumed in favour of the party asserting them, i.e. where a party proves one fact (the primary fact) and a second fact (the presumed fact) will also be taken to have been proved, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.