NCJ Number
107987
Journal
Solicitors' Journal Volume: 130 Dated: (October 1986) Pages: 795-797
Date Published
1986
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews recent court rulings in Great Britain that affect criminal procedures and evidence rules, including bail, indictment, pleas, appeal, costs, rape, and confessions.
Abstract
The case discussed under bail concerns the defendant's failure to surrender to custody because he misunderstood the court order. The paper comments on a judge's responsibility to make sure the defendant understands the full meaning of the oath and a ruling regarding a subsequent indictment offered as evidence in a trial. Another case clarifies the powers of the crown court on an appeal from the magistrates' court when it was alleged that a guilty plea was equivocal. Among the trial issues discussed are allowing a trial to continue when the defendant absconds and a discharged juror's contact with other jurors. The paper examines a trial judge's discretion as to whether to accept an alteration in the verdict pronounced by a jury, as well as several cases involving the scope and nature of appeals from the magistrates' courts. Other cases address the courts' powers to award costs against the prosecution, evidence in a rape trial, and the admission as evidence of a defendant's partly adverse statement.