The defendant had been convicted of involvement in a group attack. He had lied at the police station, and had not given some of the explanation he later gave at court. He appealed on the ground of the judges direction as to the evidence. The judge had failed to spell out the Lucas direction to the effect that the jury must reject each of the defendant’s assertions in interview before relying upon the fact of a lie as an additional factor contributing to the evidence against him. In the course of a lengthy summing up where the judge had clearly endeavoured to be fair to the defendant, the error was not such as to make the conviction unsafe.
Citations:
[1998] EWCA Crim 1283
Statutes:
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Evidence
Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.154157
