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20 April 2007 / Andrew Keogh
Issue: 7269 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Crime brief

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

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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