R v Y
The interests of justice gateway in section 114(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 can be used to admit an out of court confession by one defendant against a co-accused, though it should be used with caution.
Facts
Y and X were charged with murder. X had made a statement to a friend, admitting the killing and implicating Y. X did not give evidence at trial, and the prosecution sought to rely on his statement against Y, under the interests of justice gateway in section 114(1)(d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The judge ruled that the statement could not be admitted against Y, because at common law a confession was evidence only against its maker, and the prosecution appealed.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution's appeal. Hughes LJ said that section 114(1)(d) was not limited to evidence favourable to the defence, and that it was capable of applying to a statement by one defendant implicating another, even though such a statement was not admissible at common law. However, the gateway should be applied with caution, and the judge must consider all the factors in section 114(2), including the reliability of the statement and the circumstances in which it was made, together with the general discretion to exclude evidence which would make the trial unfair.
Related cases on hearsay
- Al-Khawaja and Tahery v United Kingdom (2012) 54 EHRR 23
- Myers v Director of Public Prosecutions [1965] AC 1001
- R v Andrews [1987] AC 281
- R v Blastland [1986] AC 41
- R v Horncastle [2009] UKSC 14, [2010] 2 AC 373
- R v Kearley [1992] 2 AC 228
- R v Riat [2012] EWCA Crim 1509
- Ratten v The Queen [1972] AC 378
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