The voir dire procedure is not appropriate for trials before justices. Accordingly it was wrong, in a trial of a youth for robbery, to hear evidence on a preliminary issue as to the availability of the defence of duress to the defendant, and to rule that it was unavailable. The most which could be done, was to decide whether there was sufficient evidence to raise it prima facie as an issue in the trial. The defendant had been unable to cross examine the witnesses nor to make representations, and the conviction would be set aside.
Citations:
Times 29-Mar-2000
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Practice
Updated: 27 September 2022; Ref: scu.77567