Taking the wrong track? Arthur and good character directions: R (on the application of Arthur) v Blackfriars Crown Court [2018] 2 Cr App R 4 (DC)

Abstract

The Divisional Court’s judgment in R (on the application of Arthur) v Blackfriars Crown Court (hereafter ‘Arthur’) is of significance in relation to questions of both criminal procedure and the law of evidence. First, it raised the issue of the proper procedure to be followed for the judicial review of a refusal to state a case for the Crown Court. Second, it is notable as one of the very few reported cases following the Court of Appeal’s landmark judgment on good character evidence in Hunter, and as an example of the contentious case where adverse inferences are drawn from a defendant’s silence in police interview (pursuant to s.34 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) despite the submission of a prepared written statement.