“We have welcomed a report by the Advocacy Training Council entitled ‘Raising the Bar: Handling of vulnerable witnesses, victims and defendants in court’.”
Bar Standards Board, 14th April 2011
Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
from the Inner Temple Library
“The man whose evidence led to the jailing of a police chief has been arrested on suspicion of fraud days before the crown will try to convince judges that he is still a reliable witness, the Guardian has learned.”
The Guardian, 20th March 2011
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Victims of crime – and witnesses to it – in England and Wales are to be given a ‘louder voice’ thanks to a £1m government initiative.”
BBC News, 21st March 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Werynski v Mediatel 4B spólka z o o (Case C-283/09); [2011] WLR (D) 50
“In respect of acts which had been adopted in the field of Title IV of the EC Treaty, since December 1 2009 the Court of Justice of the European Union has had jurisdiction to hear and determine a reference for a preliminary ruling from a court against whose decision there was a judicial remedy under national law even where the reference was lodged prior to that date. In determining whether the question referred to the Court of Justice was necessary to enable the referring court to ‘give judgment’ pursuant to article 267FEU of the FEU Treaty, ‘give judgment’ referred to the entire process of creating the judgment, including all issues relating to the responsibility for the costs of proceedings. Where the examination of a witness by a court was at issue there was a direct connection between the question referred for a preliminary ruling and the performance by the referring court of a judicial function. A requested court was not entitled pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 on cooperation between the courts of the member states in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters (OJ 2001 L 174, p 1), to make the examination of a witness conditional on prior payment of an advance from the requesting court covering his witness expense and there was no obligation upon the requesting court to pay such an advance nor was the requesting court obliged to reimburse the expenses paid to the witness examined.”
WLR Daily, 21st February 2011
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Ex parte MGN Ltd and others [2011] WLR (D) 17
“It was rarely appropriate to impose blanket reporting restrictions under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 for the purpose of ameliorating the disadvantages of giving evidence and minimising the burdens faced by witnesses in criminal trials. The protection of witnesses was more appropriately provided for by the provisions of section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and sections 22–30 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.”
WLR Daily, 26th January 2011
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Police should review witness protection protocols, a coroner has said in her report into the gangland killings of a Lincolnshire couple.”
BBC News, 10th August 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Prosecutors are under fire for not challenging the bail of a man who admitted witness intimidation only for him to go on the run for a second time.”
BBC News, 28th June 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regina v Brewster [2010] EWCA Crim 1194; [2010] WLR (D) 159
“Where a party sought to admit evidence of a witness’s bad character which bore only indirectly on his credibility, and that credibility was a matter in issue in the proceedings and of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole, such evidence was only admissible pursuant to s 100(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 as evidence of substantial probative value on the issue of creditworthiness if it was reasonably capable of assisting a fair minded jury to reach a view as to whether the witness’s evidence was worthy of belief.”
WLR Daily, 25th June 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Lord Saville could have completed his inquiry into Bloody Sunday more quickly and cheaply if he had stuck to his remit.”
The Guardian, 17th June 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Regina v Miller [2010] EWCA Crim 1153; [2010] WLR (D) 142
“In criminal proceedings, the circumstances in which one party would be permitted pursuant to s 100(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to ask a witness a question in cross-examination with a view to eliciting an answer implicating that witness in bad behaviour, which behaviour that party would be otherwise unable to prove, were infrequent and limited in scope.”
WLR Daily, 3rd June 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Regina v Braithwaite [2010] EWCA Crim 1082; [2010] WLR (D) 141
“Material contained in police crime reports that unproven allegations had been made against a person who was someone other than a defendant, or that that person had been investigated in respect of an offence, would rarely be of substantial probative value to an issue at trial sufficient to render it admissible as evidence of bad character against that person pursuant to s 100(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.”
WLR Daily, 3rd June 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Jim Watts, 57, a former disability bus driver, is serving a 12-and-a-half year jail sentence for sexually assaulting four severely mentally and physically disabled women.But there are serious concerns, raised by his legal team, that Watts, a married father of two, has been the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice, and that his case could serve as a significant deterrent to people thinking of working with severely disabled people.”
The Guardian, 2nd June 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A drug addict was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering a ‘vulnerable’ and ‘much loved’ father-of-three in a ‘vicious and brutal’ attack.”
The Independent, 13th May 2010
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“As a lawyer, I can recognise Lord Laws’ judgment in the McFarlane case as stinging rebuke to Lord Carey.”
The Guardian, 30th April 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Two contract killers are beginning life sentences for murder following a trial which caused Parliament to bring in a new law on witness anonymity.”
Daily Telegraph, 31st March 2010
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Supreme Court
“In criminal proceedings in Scotland, the Crown was under the same obligation to disclose to the defence any outstanding charges against a prosecution witness as it was to disclose a witness’s previous convictions.”
The Times, 17th February 2010
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“One of the three people jailed over the death of Baby Peter has lost an appeal against his conviction for the rape of a two-year-old.”
BBC News, 21st January 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Criminal Procedure Rules and witness attendance for magistrates’ – speech to the Magistrates’ Association Council, London on 26 November 2009.”
Judiciary of England and Wales, 1st December 2009
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
“More than 1,000 children under the age of 10 were listed as witnesses in courts in England and Wales last year, BBC News has learned.”
BBC News, 24th November 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“An independent study by Victims’ Champion Sara Payne of how frontline services meet the needs of victims and witnesses.”
Ministry of Justice, 4th November 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“Fake video footage can persuade almost half of viewers to accuse people of crimes they have not committed, new research suggests.”
Full story
Daily Telegraph, 17th September 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Where a judge ruled that a witness could be treated as a hostile in examination at trial within the meaning of s 3 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1865 by the party calling him, but that witness did not in the event prove to be hostile, the judge was still obliged to warn the jury to approach that witness’s evidence with some caution, and the nature of that direction depended on the particular circumstances of the case.”
WLR Daily, 14th August 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Young witnesses in sex abuse or violence cases are being forced to wait more than a year to give evidence in England and Wales, a report has said.”
BBC News, 3rd July 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The cross-examination of the four- year-old girl in the Baby Peter-related rape trial raised uncomfortable questions about how the justice system treats child witnesses.”
The Times, 2nd July 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Regina v Horncastle; Regina v Blackmore; Regina v Marquis; Regina v Graham; Regina v Carter
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
“A criminal trial could be fair although the defence did not have the opportunity of examining every prosecution witness.”
The Times, 3rd June 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The barrister who cross-examined the four-year-old girl raped by one of Baby P’s killers has called for reform in the way that child witnesses are treated by the courts system.”
The Independent, 22nd May 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Over 80% of victims and witnesses are satisfied with their experience of the criminal justice system, an independent report published by the Criminal Justice inspectorates today, has highlighted.”
Ministry of Justice, 7th May 2009
Surde: www.justice.gov.uk
“Hundreds of trials are being cancelled or adjourned because witnesses fail to attend court to give evidence, despite reforms to improve their treatment.”
The Times, 7th May 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Regina v Powar (Harbinder) Regina v Powar (Kulwinder)
Court of Appeal
“Anonymous witnesses must not routinely be called in the prosecution of serious crime, but now that the intimidation of witnesses had become an ugly feature of contemporary life, witness anonymity orders should not be confined to cases of terrorism or gangland killings.”
Times Law Reports, 24th April 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Plans to give young, vulnerable witnesses better support and encourage more witnesses to come forward with evidence of crimes have today been published by Justice Minister Maria Eagle.”
Ministry of Justice, 25th February 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will be given formal powers to grant immunity to witnesses in criminal investigations under new Government proposals.”
The Times, 15th January 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Modernisation of the coroners system and better protection for witnesses during criminal investigations were amongst the new measures announced by Justice Secretary Jack Straw in Parliament today when he published the Coroners and Justice Bill.”
Ministry of Justice, 14th January 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“A man accused of robbing a driving instructor has been found not guilty after a judge found that his alleged victim was ‘too believable’ in her evidence.”
Daily Telegraph, 13th January 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“In relation to criminal proceedings there was no power, whether under the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008 or otherwise, to admit statements of anonymous witnesses made otherwise than in oral evidence in the proceedings.”
WLR Daily, 16th December 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Emergency laws to protect the anonymity of witnesses do not allow them to have their evidence read out in their absence, appeal judges have ruled.”
BBC News, 13th December 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The judge presiding over the public inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, the Iraqi hotel receptionist killed while in the custody of British troops in Basra, made clear today that he intended to question every soldier who witnessed the incident, whether or not they were directly responsible.”
The Guardian, 20th November 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being urged to review their witness protection schemes to help combat ‘honour crimes’.”
BBC News, 22nd October 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Witnesses giving evidence to an inquiry into the death of Iraqi Baha Mousa have been told they will not have it used against them in criminal proceedings.”
BBC News, 15th October 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Court of Appeal
“It was preferable for crown court judges to direct police officers not to execute a warrant for the arrest except at the crown court, of a witness who had failed to appear in response to a summons, if satisfied that if the witness was going to attend voluntarily or was going to accompany them, or at least to back the warrant for bail.”
The Times, 10th September 2008
Source: www.timesonlineco.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“The test for considering whether the state had violated its obligation to protect life under art 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was stringent and remained constant; no lower standard applied where the threat to an individual’s life arose from the state’s decision to call him as a witness.”
WLR Daily, 31st July 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Van Colle and Another v Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary
House of Lords
“The test for considering whether the state had violated its obligation to protect life under article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights was stringent and remained constant; no lower standard applied where the threat to an individual’s life arose from the state’s decision to call him as a witness.”
The Times, 1st August 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“Police were today cleared of liability for the death of a court witness who was murdered days before he was due to give evidence.”
The Independent, 30th July 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Law Lords are expected to rule later on whether a police force breached the human rights of a witness who was murdered before he could give evidence.”
BBC News, 30th July 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Tighter rules on when witnesses can claim anonymity in court were issued yesterday to ensure that trials are not undermined because defendants do not know the identity of witnesses.”
The Times, 22nd July 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008 published
Full text of Act (PDF)
Source: www.opsi.gov.uk
“Emergency legislation to allow witnesses in sensitive criminal trials to give evidence anonymously has cleared Parliament.”
BBC News, 16th July 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“On the 18th June the House of Lords handed down their opinions
IN THE CAUSE
R v Davies (Appellant) (On appeal from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division))
I quote from the speech of Lord Bingham, the senior law lord at paragraph 5 : ‘It is a long-established principle of the English common law that, subject to certain exceptions and statutory qualifications, the defendant in a criminal trial should be confronted by his accusers in order that he may cross-examine them and challenge their evidence.’
Today I am talking to Andrew Keogh, a barrister, published author and author of the White Rabbit blog about the case and the proposed anonymity legislation”
Charon QC, 10th July 2008
Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com
“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.
“The memories of witnesses are flawed, marred by gaps or inventions and should not be relied upon in court cases, researchers say.”
The Times, 11th July 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Prosecutions are at risk of not going ahead even if fast-track plans to allow witnesses anonymity in court are approved, the Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday.”
The Times, 9th July 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“A ‘large number’ of court cases could be ‘at risk’ if judges do not have the power to grant anonymity to witnesses, MPs and peers have been told.”
BBC News, 8th July 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“MPs are to debate emergency legislation to restore trial judges’ powers to grant anonymity to witnesses.”
BBC News, 8th July 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Bar Council has prepared a Parliamentary Briefing on the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill 2008 which is being taken through its Commons Second Reading stage tomorrow, Tuesday 8 July 2008.”
Parliamentary Briefing Paper (PDF)
The Bar Council, 7th July 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“The Witness and Victim Experience Survey is a national telephone survey that explores victims’ and witnesses’ experiences of the criminal justice system in England and Wales in cases that have resulted in criminal charges.
This report explores the provision of information and services to victims and witnesses in cases closed between February 2005 to January 2006, and of the progress made at a local and national level against key criminal justice system initiatives.”
Early findings from the Witness and Victim Experience Survey: information and service provision (PDF)
Ministry of Justice, 3rd July 2008
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“Emergency legislation to restore trial judges’ powers to grant anonymity to witnesses has been unveiled by Justice Secretary Jack Straw. ”
BBC News, 3rd July 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk