The defendant, accused of a sexual offence, wished to assert in his defence that the complainant had pestered him for sex, and to question her on this. The judge had not allowed the questions to be put, being questions about her previous sexual behaviour.
Held: Where the purpose of the questioning was to undermine the complainant’s credibility, cross examination should be refused. Where the purpose was to strengthen the defence case, then the judge had then to ask whether a refusal to allow the questioning would render the trial unfair. In this case the defendant had chosen in any event not to give evidence, and the judge would properly have directed the jury to disregard answers to the questions if put. Appeal dismissed.
Judges:
Rose LJ, Crane, Hunt JJ
Citations:
Times 08-Jun-2004
Statutes:
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 41
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Criminal Practice
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.199550