Disclosure by third parties in criminal proceedings was not affected by other new rule. Simon Brown LJ summarised the tests for materiality for requiring production of dicuments from third parties by magistrates: ‘The central principles . . . are as follows:
(i) to be material evidence documents must be not only relevant to the issues arising in the criminal proceedings, but also documents admissible as such in evidence;
(ii) documents which are desired merely for the purpose of possible cross-examination are not admissible in evidence and, thus, are not material for the purposes of section 97;
(iii) whoever seeks production of documents must satisfy the Justices with some material that the documents are ‘likely to be material’ in the sense indicated, likelihood for this purpose involving a real possibility, although not necessarily a probability;
(iv) it is not sufficient that the applicant merely wants to find out whether or not the third party has such material documents. This procedure must not be used as a disguised attempt to obtain discovery.’
Judges:
Simon Brown LJ
Citations:
Times 05-May-1995, [1996] Cr App R 239
Statutes:
Magistrates Courts Act 1980 97
Cited by:
Cited – Wasted Costs Order (No 5 of 1997) CACD 2-Sep-1999
Witness orders for the production of documents in the speculative hope that they might contain matters of assistance should be discouraged, and particularly so in respect of documents held by social services departments. This should now be well . .
Cited – Cunliffe, Regina (on the Application of) v West London Magistrates’ Court Admn 6-Jul-2006
The claimant was an employee of the company manufacturing alcohol measuring devices. He sought judicial review of decisions by magistrates to require him to attend court to give evidence which would require him to breach obligations of confidence he . .
Cited – Regina v Stone CACD 19-Jul-2000
The defendant appealed against a refusal of a stay of the proceedings as an abuse, and the decision to admit certaiin evidence, and a refusal to issue a witness summons against an alleged informant. The defendant had been subject to an undercover . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice, Magistrates
Updated: 09 April 2022; Ref: scu.87606