Chapter 12 Multiple Choice Questions

. A defendant's lawyer completed the 'case progression' form at a preliminary hearing in the magistrates' court, indicating a defence of self-defence to a charge of assault. However, when the case came to trial the defendant claimed that there was 'no case to answer', as the papers did not identify the defendant as the assailant. The contents of the case progression form were admissible in evidence to show the earlier acceptance of a case to answer.

True

False

. Which of the following statements about confessions is correct? Please select all that apply.

A confession does not have to be wholly adverse to the person who made it. It is sufficient if it is only partly adverse.

A confession must be wholly adverse to the person who made it.

A confession may only be made by words, as anything else is inherently uncertain and, thus, contrary to the rule of law.

A confession may not be given in evidence for a co-accused. This feature of the law has been described by Cross as 'one aspect of the great pathological dread of manufactured evidence, which beset English lawyers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and is over-ripe for reform'.

. In order to constitute a confession under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, an admission must be made to a 'person in authority' - being 'a person who the accused reasonably thought had some influence over his or her arrest, detention or prosecution'.

True

False

. At the time that a confession is made it must be 'adverse to the person who made it'. That means…

The definition of 'confession' is an inclusive one and clearly intended to be a broad one. The test as to whether a statement is adverse or not is to be made at the time when it is sought to give the statement in evidence. A statement that is later found to be adverse will amount to a confession if, but only if, it is also corroborated by other cogent evidence.

The definition of 'confession' is an inclusive one and clearly intended to be a broad one. The test as to whether a statement is adverse or not is to be made at the time when it is sought to give the statement in evidence. That is confirmed by the underlying rationale of s. 76. Therefore, it matters not that the statement was initially meant as exculpatory.

A statement by the accused that is wholly exculpatory when made and so not adverse to the accused's interests, cannot be regarded as a confession, unless it was obtained by oppression.

A statement by the accused that is wholly exculpatory when made and so not adverse to the accused's interests, cannot be regarded as a confession. This is so, even if it later transpires that the statement is actually adverse to the accused's interests because it conflicts with the defence at trial.

. A confession is admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule.

True

False

. Which of the following have been held to amount to 'oppression' for the purposes of s. 76(2)(a) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984? Please select all that apply.

A police officer informed a suspect that her co-accused boyfriend in the next cell had been having an affair with another woman for the past three years.

A police officer spoke to the suspect in a raised voice and swore at him. In short, the police officer was rude and discourteous to the suspect.

Police officers bullied and hectored the suspect. The officers did not question him so much as shout at him what they wanted him to say.

A suspect described as 'experienced, intelligent and sophisticated' was questioned at length, without a caution, and contrary to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Codes of Practice.

. 'Following the well-established rule at common law, unusually, the burden lies on the defence to prove that a confession should not be admissible in evidence. This is because of its status as an exception to the rule against hearsay. As a consequence, the confession is conclusively presumed to be admissible and the onus is placed squarely on the defence to prove otherwise'.

True

False

. In relation to s. 76(2)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the relevant legal test to determine the admissibility of a confession is whether, in the circumstances, a relevant confession is or may be unreliable.

True

False

. Will there be good grounds to seek the exclusion of a confession under s. 76(2)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 where: (a) the accused confessed not because of anything that was said or done to him by the police, but because (b) independently of what the police had said or done he became 'stressed' and worried that if he did not confess, members of his family might also become implicated in the alleged offence?

At common law this would be insufficient because the confession was not 'obtained by anything said or done by a person in authority'. However, as a confession now need not be given to a person in authority, this would now be good grounds for exclusion under s. 76(2)(b).

At common law this would be insufficient because the confession was not 'obtained by anything said or done'. However, it may be excluded under s. 76(2)(b) because there is a judicial discretion to exclude a confession where it has been obtained in any circumstances that may render it unreliable.

The confession would be admissible in evidence because for the purposes of s. 76(2)(b), the something said or done to by the police must render the confession unreliable and there is no indication that this confession is unreliable as a result of anything said or done by the police.

The confession would be admissible in evidence because for the purposes of s. 76(2)(b), something said or done must be said or done by the police and must be external to the accused.

. What will be the consequences of a confession being wholly or partly excluded from the evidence, under s. 76 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, in relation to any facts discovered as a result of the confession?

This will mean that any facts discovered as a result of the confession will also be inadmissible.

This will mean that any facts discovered as a result of the confession will also be inadmissible, unless they count as part of the res gestae.

This will not affect the admissibility of any facts discovered as a result of the confession.

This will not affect the admissibility of any facts discovered as a result of the confession, provided the suspect received legal advice before he or she made the confession.

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