The defendant appealed his conviction for sex offences, saying the court had misdirected the jury as to the weight to be given to the distress shown by the complainant as corroboration of her allegation.
Held: Old cases should be looked at carefully when they dated from a time when corroboration had been a requirement. The law had not been considered in case law since the change. Applying Chauhan, the judge’s direction was entirely adequate, drawing the juries attention to that distress or apparent distress and to the fact that it could have been caused by a variety of circumstances and was to be considered carefully.
Judges:
Scott-Baker LJ, Jackson, HuntJJ
Citations:
Times 02-Oct-2003
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Wilson CACD 1974
. .
Cited – Regina v Knight CACD 1966
. .
Applied – Regina v Chauhan CACD 1981
Evidence of a complainant’s distress is not admissible unless the complainant is unaware of being observed, and if the distress is exhibited at the time of, or shortly after, the offence itself, or in circumstances which appear to implicate the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.186526