Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2005] All ER (D) 220 (Nov)
Court: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division
Judge:

Tuckey LJ, Hodge J and the Recorder of Chester
Representation Francis Laird (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for the defendant.
  William Rickarby (instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service) for the Crown.
Judgment Dates: 17 November 2005

Catchwords

Criminal law - Trial - Direction to jury - Sexual offences - Reminding jury of evidence of complainant - Whether judge failing to remind jury of cross-examination - Whether amounting to material irregularity - Conviction of co-accused - Whether admissible.

The Case

In the instant case, the judge had correctly permitted the prosecution to adduce evidence of a co-defendant's conviction for indecent assault, arising out of an incident in which the defendant had allegedly raped the complainant, as relevant background evidence. However, two convictions for indecent assault arising from a different, specific, incident, were unsafe as the judge had failed to remind the jury adequately of the cross-examination of a complainant, whose evidence the judge had reminded the jury of during their deliberations. That failure was a material irregularity and the convictions were unsafe.

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