Charles Crinion publishes article on the good character of prosecution witnesses

24 June 2010

An article by Charles Crinion entitled "Adducing the Good Character of Prosecution Witnesses" has been published in July's Criminal Law Review ( [2010] Crim. L.R. Issue 7 p570). The Criminal Justice Act 2003 has revolutionised the law as regards the admissibility of bad character but the position concerning the admission of good character evidence is still based on case law, some of it very old. This article reviews the recent case law on applications by the Crown to adduce the good character of their witnesses (which may be a lack of previous convictions, praiseworthy conduct or beliefs) and proposes safeguards for its admission.