The good character backstop: directions, defeasibility and frameworks of fairness
Average rating
Cast your vote
You can rate an item by clicking the amount of stars they wish to award to this item.
When enough users have cast their vote on this item, the average rating will also be shown.
Star rating
Your vote was cast
Thank you for your feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Authors
Glover, RichardIssue Date
2020-09-04
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This paper examines the law on good character evidence in criminal trials through a discussion of the important but under-analysed case of Hunter, in which a five-judge Court of Appeal sought to clarify the law on good character directions to the jury. However, it is argued here that the judgment conflicts with the leading House of Lords decision in Aziz. The paper considers how the court misinterpreted the law and, in particular, the defeasible nature of the rule in Aziz and the impact of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. As a result, the circumstances in which a good character direction will be provided have diminished significantly. It is argued that this has important implications for the right to a fair trial, as good character directions act as a ‘backstop’ against miscarriages of justice. They also form a vital part of the ‘framework of fairness’ considered necessary, in lieu of reasoned jury verdicts, by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Taxquet v Belgium. Accordingly, it is contended that Aziz rather than Hunter should be followed so that, where there is evidence of good character, a direction is normally provided as a matter of law.Citation
Glover, R. (2020) The good character backstop: directions, defeasibility and frameworks of fairness, Legal Studies, 40 (4), pp. 675-693 DOI: 10.1017/lst.2020.29Publisher
Cambridge University PressJournal
Legal StudiesAdditional Links
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/legal-studiesType
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
0261-3875ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1017/lst.2020.29
Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/