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Crime brief

20 April 2007 / Andrew Keogh
Issue: 7269 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Criminal Justice Act 2003 - Dangerous and confused? Bad character - identification issues and harsh words, Drink, guns and mobile phones, Pre-charge bail powers

Bad character

R v Eastlake [2007] EWCA Crim 603

Evidence of bad character relating to street violence was admissible to show propensity in a case involving two allegations of violence (one section 20 the other section 47 OAPA 1861) where identification was at issue in relation to each offence.

R v Osbourne [2007] EWCA Crim 481, [2007] All ER (D) 206 (Mar)

O stood trial for murder. At the trial the prosecution admitted evidence that O had in the past been aggressive to, and shouted at, his partner in relation to the care of a child.

Held

That evidence ought not to have been admitted as it did not qualify as reprehensible behaviour under Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 112. The court observed: “Shouting between partners over the care of a very young child is not of course to be commended but in the context of a charge of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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