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The Nature of a Hearsay Statement Under The Criminal Justice Act 2003

The Nature of a Hearsay Statement Under The Criminal Justice Act 2003. (S.114(1)) Statements which were not made in oral evidence in the proceedings are only admissible as evidence of matters stated if. admissible under a statutory hearsay exception or

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The Nature of a Hearsay Statement Under The Criminal Justice Act 2003

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  1. The Nature of a Hearsay Statement Under The Criminal Justice Act 2003

  2. (S.114(1)) Statements which were not made in oral evidence in the proceedings are only admissible as evidence of matters stated if admissible under a statutory hearsay exception or admissible under a preserved common law hearsay exception or admissible by agreement between the parties or admitted in the interests of justice in the exercise of the courts inclusionary discretion

  3. Statement (s.115(2)) A representation of fact or opinion made by a person by whatever means, including one made in a sketch, photofit or other pictorial form.” Thus statements may, for example, be made orally, in writing (or video or audio recorded etc) or by conduct

  4. These types of statement are not hearsay statements (s.114(1)) (so a hearsay exception is not required in order for them to be admissible) Statements made in oral evidence in the proceedings Statements not relied on as evidence of matters stated

  5. Eric sees James kill Imran. He is called to give evidence for the prosecution at the murder trial and states that he saw James kill Imran Which one is true? [a] Eric’s statement is hearsay evidence because it is an oral statement [b] Eric’s statement is not hearsay evidence because he made the statement in oral evidence in the proceedings

  6. ANSWERS [a] Eric’s statement is hearsay evidence because it is an oral statement [b] Eric’s statement is not hearsay evidence because he made the statement in oral evidence in the proceedings [b] is true

  7. Hal tells Colin that he saw James kill Imran. Hal is dead and Colin is to be called as a witness for the prosecution at the murder trial to repeat Hal’s statement in order to prove that James killed Imran. Which one is true? [a] The statement is a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement because it was not made in writing.

  8. ANSWERS [a] The statement is a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement because it was not made in writing. [a] is true

  9. Hal writes a note in which he states that he saw James kill Imran. Hal is dead and the note is to be adduced in evidence at the murder trial by the prosecution in order to prove that James killed Imran. Which one is true? [a] The statement is a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement because it was made in writing.

  10. ANSWERS [a] The statement is a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement because it was made in writing. [a] is true.

  11. Ron tells Phil that he has just bought a diamond necklace from Brian and asks Phil to take it home and look after it for Ron. The necklace was, in fact, stolen from Brian and Phil is charged with handling. Phil, in his defence, wishes to repeat the statement made to him by Ron in order to prove that at the time when he received the necklace he did not know or believe it to be stolen. Which one is true? [a] The statement is not a hearsay statement if relied upon for this purpose [b] The statement is a hearsay statement because it was made out of court

  12. ANSWERS [a] The statement is not a hearsay statement if relied upon for this purpose [b] The statement is a hearsay statement because it was made out of court [a] is true

  13. Colin asks Hal who killed Imran and Hal points at James. Hal is now dead and Colin is to be called as a witness for the prosecution at the murder trial to give evidence of Hal’s conduct in order to prove that James killed Imran. Which one is true? [a] The statement is a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement because it was not made orally or in writing.

  14. ANSWERS [a] The statement is a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement because it was not made orally or in writing. [a] is true

  15. Implied Assertions (s.115(2) the hearsay provisions of the 2003Act only apply to a matter stated if at least one of the purposes of the person making the statement was either • to cause a person to believe the matter or • to cause a person to act or a machine to operate on the basis that the matter is as stated Thus a statement which was not made for one or more of these purposes is not a hearsay statement and a hearsay exception is not required in order for it to be admissible

  16. Sue meets a man in the street and says “hello Alf”. Richard overhears this greeting and then sees the man to whom Sue spoke commit a robbery. Sue is dead and Richard is to be called at the robbery trial to repeat Sue’s statement and to testify that the man who committed the robbery was the man Sue called Alf. Which one is true? [a] The statement is definitely a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement if Sue’s purpose was not to cause another person to believe that the man was called Alf (nor to cause a person to act/ a machine to operate upon that basis).

  17. ANSWERS [a] The statement is definitely a hearsay statement [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement if Sue’s purpose was not to cause another person to believe that the man was called Alf (nor to cause a person to act/ a machine to operate upon that basis). [b] is true

  18. Colin is with Jane when they meet a man who Colin does not know. Jane says to Colin, “This is Alan”. Later, Colin sees Alan commit a robbery. The prosecution intend to call Colin to repeat Jane’s statement and to testify that the man who committed the robbery was the man to whom Jane referred as Alan. Which one is true? [a] The statement is a hearsay statement if Jane’s purpose was to make Colin believe that the man was called Alan. [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement.

  19. ANSWERS [a] The statement is a hearsay statement if Jane’s purpose was to make Colin believe that the man was called Alan. [b] The statement is not a hearsay statement. [a] is true

  20. Representations not made by persons are not statements (so a hearsay exception is not required in order for them to be admissible) Such representations appears to include • representations made by machines (but not, it is submitted, printouts of word processed documents, as these are made by persons) • photographs, video recordings, audio recordings etc of events, sounds etc (but not recordings etc of statements made orally, in writing or by conduct, as these, it is submitted, are made by persons)

  21. Section 129(1) • Representations of fact not made by persons (i.e. by machines) but which depend for their accuracy on information supplied by persons are not admissible unless it is proved that the information was accurate • This does not (s.129(2)) affect the presumption that mechanical devices have been properly set or calibrated

  22. Ruwan sends an e-mail to Ken. A machine automatically records the sending of the e-mail from Ruwan’s e-mail address to Ken’s e-mail address at the relevant time on the relevant day. In a subsequent conspiracy trial, the prosecution wish to rely on a printout from the machine to prove that an e-mail was sent from Ruwan’s address to Ken’s address at the relevant time on the relevant day. Which is/are true? (i) The printout is a hearsay statement (ii) The printout is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The statement will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement

  23. ANSWERS (i) The printout is a hearsay statement (ii) The printout is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The statement will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement (ii) is true

  24. Hal e-mails a message to Colin in which he states that he saw James kill Imran. Hal is dead and a printout of the message, which Colin saved on his PC, is to be adduced in evidence at the murder trial by the prosecution in order to prove that James killed Imran. Which is/are true? (i) The printout is a hearsay statement (ii) The printout is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The statement will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement

  25. ANSWERS (i) The printout is a hearsay statement (ii) The printout is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The statement will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement (i) is true

  26. A CCTV system recorded the incident in which Imran was murdered, the recording showing a man who looks like James shooting Imran. The prosecution intend to rely upon the recording to prove that James shot Imran. Which is/are true? (i) The recording is a hearsay statement (ii) The recording is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The recording will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement

  27. ANSWERS (i) The recording is a hearsay statement (ii) The recording is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The recording will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement (ii) is true

  28. Hal video records a statement in which he states that he saw James kill Imran. After Hal’s death the video tape is found in his flat and the prosecution wish to rely upon it at the murder trial in order to prove that James killed Imran. Which is/are true? (i) The recording is a hearsay statement (ii) The recording is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The recording will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement

  29. ANSWERS (i) The recording is a hearsay statement (ii) The recording is not a hearsay statement. • The recording will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement (i) is true

  30. Wasim is charged with stealing paint from a warehouse. Experts carry out tests on samples of paint found in Wasim’s possession and on paint from the warehouse and type the resultant data into a computer. The computer printout identifies both samples as coming from the same batch. The prosecution intend to rely upon the printout to prove that the paint found in Wasim’s possession came from the same batch as that which was stolen from the warehouse. Which is/are true? (i) The printout is a hearsay statement (ii) The printout is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The printout will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement

  31. ANSWERS (i) The printout is a hearsay statement (ii) The printout is not a hearsay statement. (iii) The printout will not be admissible unless the prosecution satisfy the s.129(1) accuracy requirement (ii) and (iii) are true

  32. Human Rights The existence of the hearsay rule is not incompatible with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the nature of evidential rules being, essentially, a matter of domestic law. This does not mean, however, that the exclusion of hearsay evidence tendered by the defence is inherently incapable of rendering a trial unfair for the purposes of Article 6 (though, in such circumstances, defence hearsay may now be admissible under s.114(1)(d) inclusionary discretion).

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