Evidence of the conviction of a co-accused for the same offence was a discretion to be used only sparingly by the judge. The jury were in danger of concluding that the fact of the conviction was evidence against the defendant that an offence had indeed taken place. The direction in this case effectively removed from the jury the opportunity to consider properly a main plank of the defendant’s case.
Citations:
Times 02-Nov-2000
Criminal Evidence
Updated: 09 April 2022; Ref: scu.85234
