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Criminal Law Casebook
The Criminal Law Casebook, published by Don Mathias, focuses on detailed case notes and commentary related to criminal law. It covers judicial decisions on trial fairness, evidentiary rules including admissibility and probative value versus prejudicial effect, appellate review standards, prosecutorial discretion and judicial review of prosecution decisions, and distinctions between questions of law and fact. The blog discusses significant cases from various common law jurisdictions, analyzing legal principles such as jury directions, misdirections, and the rights of defendants to fair trials. It also addresses procedural aspects like stays of proceedings and appellate standards for overturning verdicts, providing a resource for understanding criminal law doctrine and practice.
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Latest from Criminal Law Casebook
Inappropriate generalisations: BQ v The King [2024] HCA 29 and Steven Moore (a pseudonym) v The King [2024] HCA 30
While counter-intuitive evidence may require a direction against its misuse, it is wrong to attempt to formulate a general direction applicable in all cases: BQ v The King [2024] HCA 29 at [50].“[51] … Instead, where necessary, the legitimate and…
Misdirections and trial fairness: Maynard v The King (St Christopher and Nevis) [2024] UKPC 24
A defendant who has not had a fair trial should be entitled to a new trial, regardless of how compelling the evidence of guilt appears to be. [1]This is so, even where appellate judges are allowed to reach their own…
The constraints on judicial review of decisions to prosecute: Director of Public Prosecutions v Durham (Trinidad and Tobago) [2024] UKPC 21
While it is possible to successfully challenge on review a prosecutorial decision to bring or continue with criminal proceedings, it is only in highly unusual circumstances that such a review will be successful. Indeed, the very bringing of review proceedings may…
Identifying questions of law: R v Hodgson, 2024 SCC 25
Distinguishing questions of law from questions of fact is not always easy. The distinction can be important, as where a right of appeal is limited to appeal on a question of law only.Where a person has been acquitted of an…
Construing "otherwise": Fischer v United States USSC 23-5572
Law teachers who have to keep first year students amused will be delighted with Fischer v United States USSC 23-5572 (28 June 2024).We all know the old maxims of statutory interpretation, noscitur a sociis and ejusdem generis. They seem…
Access to the courts, abuse of process: Mueen-Uddin v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKSC 21
Aspects of the law of abuse of process that are of interest to criminal lawyers are stated in Mueen-Uddin v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKSC 21.The case is of considerable interest to defamation lawyers too.…
Advocacy needs focus: Ruhumatally v The State (Mauritius) [2024] UKPC 15
Most advocates know how burdensome – even embarrassing – it is to advance weak submissions.We used to have a Court of Appeal justice who, after counsel had completed extended submissions on what was apparently thought to have been a strong…
Openness about protection of informers: Canadian Broadcasting Corp v Named Person, 2024 SCC 21
Procedures for reconciling the interests involved in cases where informer privilege exists are the subject of Canadian Broadcasting Corp v Named Person, 2024 SCC 21.My summary in the following paragraphs does not adopt all the terminology used by…
Defence against provoked assault: Dayney v The King [2024] HCA 22
Sometimes, the clarity of a court’s exposition of a statutory provision makes one wonder why the legislation drafting office couldn’t come up with such clarity in the first place.For example, see Dayney v The King [2024] HCA 22, at…