Evidence of Bad Character in Criminal ... - Law Commission

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Severance of defendants 2.88 35
Section 1(f)(iii) and separate trials 2.89 36
Severance of counts/informations 2.91 36
PART III: THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
39
The structure of Article 6 3.2 39
Article 6 and rules of evidence 3.4 40
The fairness of the admission of previous convictions per se 3.7 41
Loss of shield by casting imputations 3.9 42
Victims of crime and the Convention 3.14 43
The effect of incorporation 3.21 45
The distinctive nature of Article 6 3.25 46
HRA, section 3 3.29 47
Reading down 3.32 48
Reading in 3.33 48
Conclusion 3.36 50
PART IV: DEFECTS OF THE PRESENT LAW 51
The principal defects 51
The problems in detail (I): Evidence in chief
Lack of clarity in the “similar fact evidence” rules 4.2 52
Evidence of propensity admitted as similar fact evidence 4.7 53
Background evidence 4.11 54
Section 27(3) of the Theft Act 1968
The justification for section 27(3) 4.13 55
The defects of section 27(3) 4.17 56
The problems in detail (II): Cross-examination of the defendant 4.24 58
Section 1(f)(i) 4.25 58
The first limb of section 1(f)(ii): assertions of good character 4.26 59
(i) The doctrine that character is indivisible 4.27 59
(ii) The use that can be made of bad character evidence 4.28 60
(iii) It is unclear what kinds of assertions will trigger the loss of
the shield 4.30 60