Hearsay, Psychiatric Evidence and the Interests of Justice

Tony Ward*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The hearsay provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 have important implications for psychiatric evidence that relies on statements made by a patient (particularly where the patient is the defendant). The ambiguous common law rulings on such evidence have largely been superseded by the Act. Evidence which relies on the statements of a defendant who is fit to testify but elects not to do so should generally not be admitted unless the parties agree or the judge decides that it is in the interests of justice to admit the defendant's statements as hearsay.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)415-426
Number of pages12
JournalCriminal Law Review
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2009
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Hearsay, Psychiatric Evidence and the Interests of Justice'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this