Policy for prosecuting cases of bad driving - Crown Prosecution ...

Policy for Prosecuting Cases of Bad Drivingconviction against each defendant on each charge”. Thismeans that a jury or bench of magistrates, properlydirected in accordance with the law, is more likely than notto convict the defendant of the charge alleged.4.4 The evidential standard that we apply is therefore differentfrom the one that the court applies before it may convict adefendant. This is why not all cases that are prosecutedresult in a conviction. Just because a case may pass theevidential stage in the Full Code Test does not necessarilymean that the case will result in a conviction. It is for thecourt to decide whether a defendant is guilty based uponthe evidence that it hears or reads.4.5 If the case does not pass the evidential stage based on thestrength of the evidence, it must not go ahead, no matterhow important or serious it may be. This is because wehave reached the view that the court is not likely to convictthe defendant of the crime alleged on the evidence wehave. In such cases, it is wrong to prosecute the defendantand it is wrong to raise the expectations of victims andwitnesses when we do not believe that a conviction islikely.The second stage – the public interest stage4.6 If the case does pass the evidential stage, we must thendecide if a prosecution is needed in the public interest. Aprosecution will usually take place “unless there are publicinterest factors tending against prosecution which clearlyoutweigh those tending in favour”.12