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

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(iv) Previous convictions of other possible culprits 4.32 61
The second limb of section 1(f)(ii): imputations against
prosecution witnesses and deceased victims
Summary 4.33 61
(i) No exception for necessary imputations 4.34 62
(ii) Over-reliance on judicial discretion 4.44 65
(iii) The foundations for the second limb of section 1(f)(ii) are
unsound 4.47 66
(a) Credibility 4.48 66
(b) Fairness 4.51 67
(c) Deterring attacks on prosecution witnesses 4.53 68
(iv) Non-testifying defendants 4.60 69
(v) A temptation to fabricate 4.66 71
(vi) Inconsistent prosecution practice 4.67 71
(vii) Lack of clarity 4.68 71
Section 1(f)(iii): cross-examination of a co-accused 4.70 72
(i) Lack of judicial discretion 4.71 73
(ii) Defendants may be inhibited in their defence or may be
deterred from testifying 4.76 74
(iii) The court may be misled 4.78 75
The hearsay exception for reputation 4.79 75
The need for change 4.80 76
PART V: GENERAL PRINCIPLES 78
PART VI: THE GENERAL APPROACH: THE OPTIONS 81
Option 1: adduce the defendant’s criminal record at the start of
every trial 6.3 81
Arguments in favour of option 1 6.4 81
Simplicity 6.5 82
Removal of injustices and anomalies in the current law 6.8 82
Avoiding the prejudicial effect of revealing the defendant’s
record in cross-examination 6.9 82