The defendant appealed against his conviction. He said that a witness could not be found and therefore did not attend the trial, but her statement had nevertheless been admitted as hearsay evidence.
Held: The right of a defendant to confront a witness is fundamental to a fair trial. If he is to forego that right, every effort must be shown to have been taken to attempt to trace the witness. In this case she had stated her reluctance to attend. A re-trial was ordered.
Judges:
Lord Justice Thomas, Mr Justice King and Judge Moss, QC
Citations:
[2009] EWCA Crim 1213, Times
Links:
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act 2003 116(2)(d)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Horncastle and Others v Regina CACD 22-May-2009
Each defendant appealed on the basis that they had not had proper opportunity to cross examine prosecution witnesses whose evidence had been accepted by the court. In each case evidence had been hearsay. In two cases, the witness had died before . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 15 September 2022; Ref: scu.347227