Friday, January 21, 2011

Admissibility of a record of interview

Imagine the following scenario. Mr Smith is charged with aggravated burglary. He is interviewed by police and denies involvement in the offence. In the course of the interview, he makes some exculpatory statements that suggest that other police witnesses may have a motive to lie. Is this interview admissible in the trial? Even if it is admissible, is the prosecution obliged to tender it?

Friday, January 7, 2011

Dangerous delays

Applicants for special leave to appeal to the High Court are well familiar with three standard bases on which special leave is refused:
  1. The case does not raise any issue of sufficient importance
  2. The case does not have sufficient prospects of success
  3. The case is not a suitable vehicle for raising the issue in question
So far, one striking feature of the French High Court has been its increasingly aggressive position on the issue of court delays. As a result, we may start to see the emergence of a fourth basis:
  • The delays in the case have been too great to justify further extending proceedings