The defendant complained that a police officer called to give evidence of his previous conviction in order to support a claim that such convictions showed a propensity to commit offences of the type alleged, had not properly presented them, putting forward details which were not properly proved.
Held: The officer had put in evidence matters of fact which were not properly proved. The foundation for proving the methods used by the defendant must be properly laid. For such details evidence from a previous complainant should be made available if necessary. Prosecutors should take care to be sure that such evidence was necessary before obtaining it. In this case however the conviction remained safe.
Judges:
Lord Woolf LCJ, Goldring J, Walker J
Citations:
Times 19-Sep-2005
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act 2003 101(1)(d) 117
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Practice
Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.230102