The defendants appealed the use made of their previous records once they had become admissible after they had attacked the character of prosecution witnesses.
Held: It was proper that once the defendant had allowed his criminal record to be put in after he had attacked the character of a prosecution witness, that record could also become usable within the trial as evidence of propensity. The Act did not specify the way in which a record could be used once it had become admissible. The definition in section 98 was so wide as to suggest that it could be used for any proper purpose. The issue was decided by the potential relevance, not by the gateway by which it was admitted.
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Crim 1985, Times 09-Aug-2005
Links:
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act 2003 98 113
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Practice
Updated: 03 July 2022; Ref: scu.229384