Recently, there has been an increase in prosecutions of domestic violence allegations, without the complainant having to attend court.
The Crown Prosecution Service has started to prosecute cases on Body Warn Footage and/or 999 calls alone and statements made at the scene.
The prosecution are now starting to build and prosecute cases without calling a complainant and admit this type of evidence under the “hearsay” provisions.
Hearsay Evidence
Rules governing the use of hearsay evidence, as outlined in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, offers the prosecution the opportunity to proceed with cases in court on hearsay evidence alone.
A statement admitted under the hearsay provisions can be read or played to the court without having to call the author of the statement.
This causes major issues for defence lawyers and persons subject to false allegations.
It prevents the defence the opportunity to cross-examine prosecution witnesses and challenge live witnesses in court.
It is therefore imperative that defence lawyers oppose applications for this type of hearsay to be admitted at trial. There is a vast amount of complicated case law in this area and expertise is required to deal with these applications.
Monan Gozzett solicitors have expertise in opposing these applications and can assist in false allegations.
Please call us on 0207 936 6329 or email info@monangozzett.com.
If you would like to speak to our expert legal team about this, or any related subject then please contact our team by phone on 0207 936 6329, Email or by completing our Quick Contact Form below.