Friday, August 24, 2007

An appeal subtle but strong

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It is unusual for an appellant (the accused at trial) to be able to establish three grounds on appeal, each of which would have individually...
Thursday, August 23, 2007

Third anniversary!

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To celebrate the third anniversary (next Saturday) of the start of this site, here is a draft paper on the exclusion of improperly obtained...
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Stare decisis: formalism, pragmatism and habeas corpus

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The problem of whether to depart from a recent decision of the same court was the subject of Gibson v USA (The Bahamas) [2007] UKPC 52 (23 ...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Whipping and buggery!

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Two points of interest were made in Persad v The State (Trinidad and Tobago) [2007] UKPC 51 (23 July 2007), one being a point of law, the ot...
Monday, July 23, 2007

Saying and using

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A firearm is “used” in the commission of an offence if its presence or immediate availability is revealed: R v Steele [2007] SCC 36 (20 Jul...
Friday, July 20, 2007

Judicially-raised appeal points

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Occasionally, the best point in favour of an appellant may only be noticed by the judges of the appellate court. This occurred in Charles v ...
Monday, July 09, 2007

Lawfulness, arbitrariness and road blocks

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When the police, in an effort to catch someone who has committed a serious crime, set up a road block and question motorists, are they subje...
Thursday, July 05, 2007

Eliminating floppiness?

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Vagueness in the criteria for the admission of evidence may allow a judge to take account of the accused’s right to a fair trial. This sort ...
Monday, June 25, 2007

Unappealing confusion

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The High Court of Australia’s attempt in Weiss v R (2005) 224 CLR 300 (blogged here 16 January 2006) to clarify the law concerning the appl...
Friday, June 22, 2007

Probative value and prejudicial effect

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The discretion to exclude evidence when its probative value is outweighed by its illegitimately prejudicial effect has given rise to some di...
Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Domestic harmony and judicial disharmony

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Where a witness is not competent to be a prosecution witness without the consent of the accused, can hearsay evidence from that person never...
Monday, June 18, 2007

Clarity and obscurity

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One of the things that makes law both difficult and interesting is the shift between clarity and obscurity. Authoritative statements of the ...
Friday, June 15, 2007

The appeal of hypotheticals

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On Wednesday Kirby J in the High Court of Australia made an interesting observation on the extent to which that Court should engage in specu...
Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Bias and sensitivity

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It seems that a reasonable apprehension that the judge is biased will be sufficient grounds for a rehearing, regardless of whether the judge...
Monday, June 11, 2007

Looking overseas

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Do rights-based restrictions on acceptable evidence collecting procedures apply to officials who act outside the jurisdiction of the country...
Friday, June 08, 2007

Secret appeals

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Public interest may require that some information not be disclosed by the prosecution even though it might be of use to the defence in prepa...
Monday, May 28, 2007

Hearsay confessions

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A particularly tricky problem in evidence law is how to deal with the admissibility of hearsay confessions. These occur when a witness for t...
Thursday, May 24, 2007

Hidden badness

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An attack by an accused on the character of a prosecution witness, especially a complainant, may result in the court being informed of the a...
Friday, May 11, 2007

Howse of discontent

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Another case (in addition to Bain , also decided on 10 May 2007, see blog below) in which a Court of Appeal thought that the case against th...

Justices Marple, Holmes and Poirot

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Stating the law is one thing, applying it another. An appellate court may be able correctly to state the way it should approach the question...
Friday, May 04, 2007

Disorderly rights

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Offences of disorderly behaviour, involving the simplest of facts, can provide the basis for interminable disputation among jurists. This af...