Diagnostic test

. Which is correct? Article 6 ECHR covers…

Civil proceedings only

Both civil and criminal proceedings

Criminal proceedings only

Administrative law hearings only

. Which of the following is not specifically included in the list of five foundational principles of criminal evidence identified by Roberts and Zuckerman?

Accurate fact-finding

Protecting national security

Protecting the innocent from wrongful conviction

The principle of humane treatment

. Which of the following statements gives a correct account of the judgement in R v Hunt (1987) in cases where the courts have to decide whether the statute requires a shift of the burden of proof?

In R v Hunt the burden of proof on the amount of morphine in the alleged drug was placed on the defendant

One of the factors to consider was the mischief the statute was addressing

The court should not bear in mind the practical problems in allocating the burden of proof, including who would find the burden easier to discharge

The court should not examine the seriousness of the offence which could resolve ambiguity in favour of the defence

. Which case does this scenario apply to?
The defendant was charged with breaching provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, following an accident in which an employee who was driving a dumper truck was killed when the lorry load fell on him. The House of Lords considered the allocation of the burden of proving the statutory defence, that it was not reasonably practicable for the employer to do more than in fact was done. The House held that it was for the defendant employer to prove it was not reasonably practicable to provide safe conditions.

R v Chargot (2009)

Sheldrake v DPP (2005)

R v Johnstone (2003)

R v Keogh (2007)

. Which of the following statements is correct?

To be admissible a confession cannot be a wordless action

To be admissible a confession may be made to a person not in authority

A confession is inadmissible if it is only partly adverse to the person who made it

A confession must be made in writing

. Ruby is being questioned at the police station by two detectives. She is suspected of having thrown her pet dog Alice down the cellar stairs. A duty solicitor is present at the interview. The detectives question Ruby in a hectoring manner for eight hours continually and deliberately refuse the solicitor's requests for rest and meal breaks. Ruby denies the charge and claims Alice had fallen down the stairs since the cellar door had been accidentally left open. Finally, Ruby, exhausted, shouts back that she had been angry at Alice's barking while she was watching TV and that she had pushed Alice down into the cellar. Ruby is now charged with animal cruelty. Advise Ruby.

Ruby may be able to apply to have her confession excluded under the test for oppression, PACE s76(2)(a)

Ruby should be advised that verbal abuse does not fall within the definition of oppression

The burden of proof is on Ruby to prove that the confession was not obtained by oppression

If Ruby's confession is true, it will not be excluded under s 76(2)(a)

. In A v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) (2006) the House of Lords held that evidence obtained by torture was not admissible in English courts. Which of the following propositions is correct?

The House cited only Articles 3 and 6 ECHR as authority for this ruling

The House upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal on this issue

The House cited the common law prohibition on torture, Articles 3 and 6 ECHR, and general principles of international law as authority for the proposition

The ruling does not apply to evidence obtained by torture outside the UK

. The following list includes the test set out in R v Smurthwaite (1994) for the treatment of evidence allegedly obtained by entrapment. Which item is wrongly included?

Is there an unassailable record of what occurred or is it strongly corroborated?

How active or passive was the officer's role?

What was the nature of the entrapment- was it evidence of admission of a completed offence, or does it consist of the actual commission of an offence?

Is the case being tried summarily or on indictment?

. S101(1) CJA 2003 contains seven 'gateways' to admissibility of bad character evidence of the defendant. Which of the following statutory sections is correctly cited in the four 'gateways' below?

S101(1)(g) The defendant has made an attack on another person's character.

S101(1)(a) The evidence is adduced by the defendant.

S101(1)(d) It is evidence to correct a false impression given by the defendant

S10(1) 1(e) It is relevant to an important matter in issue between the defendant and the prosecution

. Which of the following statements about s98 Criminal Justice Act 2003 is correct in its reference to behaviour of the defendant which is not included in the definition of his bad character?

It cites both evidence of misconduct in connection with the investigation or prosecution of the offence for which he is charged and also behaviour which has to do with the alleged facts of the case

It cites only behaviour which has to do with the alleged facts of the case

It refers to ' important explanatory evidence'.

It cites only evidence of misconduct in connection with the investigation or prosecution of that offence

. Which of the following statements is correct?

All common law exceptions are preserved in s118 CJA 2003.

The rule against hearsay only applies to prosecution evidence

The same rules apply to criminal and civil hearsay

In civil proceedings the rule has been effectively abolished in the Civil Evidence Act 1995

. In R v Blastland (1986) B was charged with murder. He wished to adduce evidence that another man had made various statements suggesting he had knowledge of the murder before it was made public. Munday (Cross and Tapper on Evidence, 13^th edn OUP, 2018, p584) commented, 'The House of Lords held evidence of such knowledge inadmissible, adopting a very narrow view of its relevance'. Munday cites in a footnote a possible statutory route to such evidence in some cases. Which is the section he cites?

S117 CJA 2003

S118 CJA 2003

S116 (2)(e) CJA 2003

None of the above

. Which of the following statements is correct in relation to anonymous witnesses?

The Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity Act) 2008 reversed the ruling in R v Davis (2008)

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 ss 86-96 apply to undercover police but not to civilian witnesses

In R v Davis (2008) the House of Lords held that measures preserving the anonymity of a civilian witness constituted a violation of Article 6 but not of common law principles

Under s87 Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the same procedures with regard to anonymous witnesses apply to defence and prosecution

. Which of the following is correct in relation to child witnesses in civil proceedings?

The Children Act 1989 provides that in civil proceedings a child under 18 who does not understand the nature of an oath may give unsworn evidence provided he or she understands the duty to speak the truth and has sufficient understanding to justify the evidence being heard

The presumption in civil proceedings is that all witnesses are competent and compellable

A child's evidence may not be given by hearsay in civil proceedings

A child's evidence in civil proceedings must always be given unsworn

. Which case is the leading authority for the proposition that the judge must give a mandatory warning where identification evidence is disputed?

R v Makanjuola (995)

R v Slater (1995)

R v Weeder (1980)

R v Turnbull (1977)

. Are the police allowed to show a witness a photograph of a suspect?

Never

Only if there is no suspect available to attend an identification and there is to be no video identification or parade

Yes, in addition to a video identification or parade

Yes, but only in the case of very serious offences

. Which of the following propositions can be found in the court's ruling in R v Robb (1991) concerned with the admissibility of expert evidence on voice recognition?

An expert's evidence should only be admitted if he or she has a doctorate in the subject

Expert evidence based on unusual methodology should not be admitted

Such evidence can be admitted as long as the jury were directed they were entitled to reject it

It is essential that there should be majority approval in the scientific community of an expert's standing

. Larry is facing trial for conspiracy to receive stolen goods. The prosecution case is that he had conspired with Sajid to accept a consignment of computer chips stolen from a warehouse in an armed robbery. L pleads not guilty and claims not to know Sajid. He says he ordered the chips in good faith from a regular lawful supplier. The police in an undercover operation had secured CCTV footage of a phone conversation between L and an unknown person. The sound on the video footage has however been drowned out by loud music. The prosecution wish to adduce evidence from an expert in lip-reading, Jennifer, who will state that the words 'Saj' and 'chips' are decipherable on the video. Advise on this evidence.

The only test for admissibility is whether or not lip-reading competence is within the court's knowledge,

The two tests for admissibility are whether or not lip-reading competence is within the court's knowledge and, if not, whether J has sufficient expertise.

The two tests for admissibility are whether or not lip-reading competence is within the court's knowledge and, if not, whether J has sufficient expertise. In addition, the judge must direct the jury that they have a choice to accept or reject J's evidence.

In addition to the requirements in c) above, the methodology used by J must be demonstrated to be justifiable or falsifiable in cross examination

. Gloria is facing trial, charged with dealing in proscribed drugs. She denies the charge. Two police officers claim to have identified her selling Ecstasy tablets outside a local shop. She disputes their identification and demands disclosure of the premises from which they carried out the surveillance. Advise Gloria

The judge will agree to her demand for disclosure of the details of the observation post

The judge will refuse to allow disclosure of the details of the post

The judge will consider whether disclosure is necessary in order to establish innocence and if so either order disclosure or stop the prosecution

The judge will follow prosecution advice on disclosure

. Which of the following propositions correctly outlines the approach of the European Court of Human Rights to Public Interest Immunity claims in criminal cases?

Non-disclosure should never be allowed in criminal trials

The decision on disclosure may be made by the judge or the prosecution

The decision on disclosure must always be made by the judge

The decision on disclosure may be made by the executive

. Which of the following is a correct account of the authority for the privilege against self-incrimination?

The privilege is not protected by common law

The privilege is specifically identified in Article 6 European Convention on Human Rights

The privilege is identified in s14(1) Civil Evidence Act 1968

The privilege is extended by s31(1) Theft Act 1968

. Which is the correct account of the ratio in R v Hertfordshire CC ex p Green Environmental Industries Ltd (2000)?

An abrogation of the privilege against self-incrimination by compulsory powers does not breach Article 6 if the answers to questions are not tendered in criminal proceedings

Saunders v UK (1997) was wrongly decided

The privilege against self-incrimination applied equally in administrative and in criminal proceedings

The appellants could rely on Saunders v UK (1997) as authority for refusal to answer questions under s71(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990

Diagnostic test

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