Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2001] All ER (D) 250 (Dec)
Court: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division
Judge:

Mance LJ, Penry-Davey and Leveson JJ
Representation Paul Farrer (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for RH.
  John Evans (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for SH.
  James Burbidge (instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service) for the Crown.
Judgment Dates: 17 December 2001

Catchwords

Criminal law - Trial - Stay of proceedings - Abuse of process - Destruction of evidence - No mala fides on part of Crown - Whether proceedings should be stayed as abuse of process - Whether trial rendered unfair - Whether conviction consequently unsafe.

The Case

Under paras5.1 and 5.7 of Code B of the Codes of Practice to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act the prosecution had a duty to retain evidence until either the conviction or the acquittal of a defendant. In cases in which evidence had been destroyed in breach of those provisions and an application was made by the defence to stay the proceedings as an abuse of process, a court had to consider the effect of that destruction on the overall fairness of the trial.

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