The appellant challenged his conviction for attempted rape of an elderly woman. Her evidence had been accepted in written form because she was unable to attend court.
Held: Before accepting such evidence the court had to establish that she would have been competent to give evidence had she been able to attend physically. S23 had no relevance to testing the competence of the swimmer. In this case the complainant suffered Alzheimers, but had appreciated why she was being questioned, and had repeatedly complained of the assault. She was not required to understand every question put to her or for all her answers to be understood.
Judges:
Lord Justice Auld Sir Edwin Jowitt Mr Justice Elias
Citations:
[2004] EWCA Crim 1294, Times 08-Jul-2004
Links:
Statutes:
Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 85, Criminal Justice Act 1988 23
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v D CACD 2002
An ability was required on the part of the witness to understand questions and give answers to them that were understandable, in short, intelligibility. . .
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Powell CACD 13-Jan-2006
The defendant was convicted of indecent assault. He appealed, saying that the complainant at 3 and a half years old was too young to give reliable evidence.
Held: The appeal succeeded. There were defects in the recording of the circumstances . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Evidence
Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.197944