Absent Witnesses - The Latest for Criminal Lawyers

Introduction

The absence of a witness at court can often be a problem for a prosecutor and occasionally for a defence advocate.

In some cases, the CPS will take the decision to proceed without any direct evidence of the offence, relying on res gestae evidence for example. In other cases, it may be the absence of one witness amongst several, that causes an issue.

Whatever the cause of the absent witness, practitioners need to have a firm grasp of legislation and an ever-growing body of case-law in this area.

What You Will Learn

• How can the Criminal Justice Act 2003 help you?
• How can s. 114 - the interests of justice test - help with absent witnesses?
• What does the case-law say in relation to res gestae in domestic abuse cases?
• Court of Appeal guidance on the “hierarchy” of hearsay - what section to use first
• What about anonymous hearsay - I thought that was inadmissible at common law!

This webinar was recorded on 29th June 2021