The Bar Training Course
2024-25
College of Business & Law
EVIDENCE
SGS 6
WITNESSES
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UWE College of Business & Law
UWE College of Business & Law The Bar
Training Course
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this session you will have covered the following parts of the
BTC syllabus:
12. Preliminary issues relating to Witnesses
1. competence and compellability
F4.1-4.3, F4.8, F4.10, F4.14-4.15, F4.18 and F4.21 of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice
2025.
2. oaths and affirmations
the first sub-paragraph of F4.26, and paragraph F4.31 of Blackstone’s Criminal Prac-
tice 2025.
3. issue of a witness summons and warrant of arrest
D21.26, D21.27 and D15.91-15.92 and D15.93 (first five lines of the first sub-para-
graph up to “… a contempt in the court’s face (ibid.);”) of Blackstone’s Criminal Prac-
tice 2025.
13. The rules relating to the examination of Witnesses
1. examination in chief: form of questioning, memory refreshing, the use
of previous consistent statements, hostile witnesses
F6.1, F6.15-6.18, F6.28-6.29, F6.30, F6.31, F6.32, F6.33, F6.39-6.40, F6.48, F6.50-6.52,
F7.67-7.68 and F7.70 of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice 2025.
2. cross-examination: form of questioning, previous inconsistent
statements, restrictions on cross-examination, including finality on
collateral matters
F6.47, F7.1-7.3, F7.5-7.6, F7.8, F7.16-7.23, F7.48 and F7.57-7.60 of Blackstone’s
Criminal Practice 2025.
3. re-examination: form of questions
F7.66 of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice 2025.
4. the special measures available to vulnerable witnesses and witnesses
in fear of testifying
D14.1 (first ten lines of the first sub-paragraph up to “… comprehend the proceed-
ings” and the second sub-paragraph), D14.2 (first sub-paragraph), D14.3-14.7,
D14.26, D14.28 (except for the first sub-paragraph), and paragraph D14.49 of Black-
stone’s Criminal Practice 2025.
PREPARATION
1. Read those passages from Blackstone’s indicated in Sections 12
and 13 of the Syllabus
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Training Course
2. Listen to the recorded materials online
4. Read the Handout
5. Refer to your Evidence Manual as appropriate.
3. Use the online MCQs and SBAQs to test your understanding of the
topics covered
4. Prepare answers to all the attached questions, and be prepared to
discuss your conclusions in class and justify them by reference to
Blackstone’s.
PLEASE NOTE:
The exam questions which are included in these instructions
are a springboard for a discussion of the subjects covered.
It is therefore important that, in respect of each of the
answers [A] – [D], you are able to explain why each answer is
either correct or incorrect.
ACTIVITY IN THE SESSION
You will be expected to be able to give full answers in the session to all of
the attached questions, with references to Blackstone’s.
You will be given 4 unseen MCQs to answer in the session. It is therefore
essential that you have completed all of the preparatory reading for the
session.
DOCUMENTATION
You will need the following documents
(1) Attached list of questions
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Training Course
Part 1
CASE STUDIES
1. R v Darren White
Darren White is on trial in the Magistrates’ court for an offence of s.20
wounding of his wife Vanessa. Vanessa refused to make a statement to
the police: she has informed the CPS that she has no intention of giving
evidence against her husband. Vanessa’s 6-year-old daughter Carla
witnessed the incident. She is also reluctant to give evidence against
Darren.
a) Will Vanessa and Carla be competent and compellable to give
evidence against Darren?
b) If they are compellable but unwilling, how might their attendance
be secured?
c) How would your answer to (b) differ if the matter were in the Crown
Court?
Before the commencement of the trial, Vanessa discloses to the
prosecution that she in fact wounded herself: she produces medical
evidence showing a history of self-harm. After careful thought, the
prosecution decide to offer no evidence and the case against Darren is
dismissed.
However, the police subsequently discover that Vanessa fabricated her
medical history of self-harm and had shown them a fake medical report.
Accordingly she is charged with perverting the course of justice.
d) Will Darren be competent and compellable to give evidence at
Vanessa’s trial either for the prosecution, or for the defence?
e) Would it make any difference to your answer in (e) if Darren and
Vanessa were jointly charged with the offence of perverting the
course of justice?
2. R v Manning
Robert Manning faces trial at Gloucester Crown Court for attacking Ethel
Carter (aged 82) with a knife. The principal witnesses for the prosecution
are Ethel Carter and Lizzie Smith (aged 12).
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a) Lizzie has been practising taking the oath with a friend at school.
Will she be giving sworn evidence?
b) In what form is Lizzie’s evidence likely to be considered by the
jury?
c) Ethel is anxious about giving evidence. Can the prosecution apply
for special measures?
3. R v Robert Johnson
You are instructed to defend Robert, a man of good character aged 26
who is accused of raping Catherine aged 30 in the office in which they
both work. The offence is alleged to have been committed one evening,
shortly after normal business hours. Robert admits sexual intercourse but
his defence will be consent.
a) Catherine tells the prosecution counsel that she is frightened of
Robert and terrified the case may be reported in the press. What do
you expect the prosecution and / or the court to do?
b) The prosecution wish to call Margaret, Catherine’s mother, to say
that when Catherine returned home 90 minutes after the alleged
rape, she was crying uncontrollably and, on being asked what was
wrong, said that she had been raped by Robert. On what basis will
the prosecution seek to admit this evidence?
c) The prosecution also wish to call Janice, Robert’s ex-wife who
observed Catherine running away in tears and who also works in
the same office. Will the prosecution be allowed to call her and if
so, if she refuses to give evidence, can she be made to do so?
d) Robert sacks his whole defence team on the morning of the trial. He
wants to represent himself. Will he be permitted to cross-examine
Catherine?
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Part 2
EXAM QUESTIONS
QUESTION 1
You are defending Rachelle, who is on trial for theft of an ornamental vase
from an antique shop. When you examine her in chief she tells the jury
that she bought vase honestly at a car boot sale. When she is cross-
examined she is asked to describe the man who sold her the vase. She
gives a detailed description. Prosecution counsel puts it to her that she
has just ‘dreamed up’ the description for the first time in the witness box.
The description is in fact included in the proof of evidence which Rachelle
provided to her solicitor – unfortunately you forgot to adduce it during
your examination-in-chief.
Can you ask Rachelle in re-examination whether she previously gave the
description to her solicitor?
[A] Yes. She can give evidence of the previous statement to rebut the
allegation of recent fabrication.
[B] No. The description was evidence that should have been adduced
during examination-in-chief.
[C] Yes. However, the evidence that she previously gave the
description to her solicitor will only go to her credibility and not to
the truth of the matter stated.
[D] No. It would offend against the rule prohibiting previous consistent
statements.
QUESTION 2
Brad is on trial in the Crown Court. He is alleged to have assaulted his
mother, Margaret. Margaret attends to give evidence. When prosecution
counsel starts to ask questions about the incident Margaret states that
she can remember little about it, but that she doesn’t think Brad did
anything wrong. Prosecution counsel takes the view that she is probably
hostile, and decides to test the matter by making an application under
s.139 of the CJA 2003 for her to refresh her memory from her witness
statement. When she is given the statement, she still maintains she can
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remember little about it, except that Brad did nothing wrong. Prosecution
counsel then makes an application, in the absence of the jury, to treat her
as hostile. The judge grants the application.
Which one of the following statements is correct?
[A] As the question of whether or not Margaret was hostile was a
matter for the judge, the jury should not have been in court whilst
prosecution counsel tested that matter.
[B] After Margaret has given her evidence the prosecution will not be
able to call other witnesses to show that her testimony was untrue
[C] The prosecution are entitled to prove the previous inconsistent
statement made by Margaret, despite being the party that is calling her.
[D] The prosecution will not be able to re-examine after cross
examination has finished, because there is no right to re-examine a
hostile witness even if new matters arise in cross-examination.
QUESTION 3
Amir is charged with assaulting Max, causing him ABH. His defence is that
he was acting in self-defence in response to Max lunging at him. Max
maintains that he made no move towards Amir. Ahmed is appearing for
the prosecution in the trial at Bristol Crown Court. He is examining Max in
chief, when Max suddenly says that his mind has gone blank and he
cannot remember what happened next. Ahmed seeks your advice as to
how to deal with this situation.
Which of the following contains the best advice?
[A] Ahmed should adduce evidence from Max that he made a
statement to the police which records his recollection of the matter
at the time it was made. Given that his recollection at that time is
likely to have been significantly better than it is now the judge is
likely to allow Max to refresh his memory.
[B] Ahmed should ask the judge if Max may refresh his memory from
his statement. As Max is in the process of being examined in chief,
the test will be whether his written statement and the evidence he
has given so far is consistent enough to allow him to refresh his
memory.
[C] Ahmed should ask the judge if Max may refresh his memory from
his statement. As Max is in the process of being examined in chief,
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the judge will only give permission if he assesses that the witness’s
recollection of the matter is likely to have been significantly better
at the time he made the statement than it is now.
[D] Ahmed should adduce evidence from Max that he made a
statement to the police which records his recollection of the matter
at the time it was made. Given that his recollection at that time is
likely to have been better than it is now Max will be entitled to
refresh his memory.
QUESTION 4
During defence counsel’s cross-examination of Max in the same case as
question 3 above, Ahmed becomes concerned about the nature of the
questioning. The cross-examination is lengthy, repetitive and full of
comment.
Which of the following statements about the role of the judge in this
situation is correct?
[A] The trial judge has a general discretion to prevent any questions in
cross - examination which, in her opinion, are unnecessary,
improper or oppressive or which she thinks are not advancing the
case that counsel is trying to put.
[B] The trial judge must remain impartial and unless opposing counsel
asks the judge to intervene during cross-examination, the judge has
no general discretion to do so.
[C] The trial judge has no power to intervene but could report defence
counsel for a breach of the Bar Handbook in so far as it regulates
the conduct of cross-examination
[D] The trial judge has a general discretion to prevent any questions in
cross examination which, in her opinion are unnecessary, improper or
oppressive.
QUESTION 5
In the same case, during cross-examination of Max, defence counsel fails
to put that he lunged at the defendant. Which one of the following is true
about the effect of this omission?
[A] The Judge will remind defence counsel before the Max is released at
the end of re-examination that they have failed properly to put
the case.
[B] Defence counsel will be allowed to go back and put this to Max if he
is still at court as it is a central part of the defence case.
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[C] A party who fails to cross-examine a witness on a particular matter,
tacitly accepts the truth of the witness’s evidence-in-chief on that
matter. The effect is that defence counsel will not be entitled to invite the
jury to disbelieve Max’s account that he made no move towards Amir.
[D] It will have no effect on how the defence case will be put to the jury
either by the judge in summing up or by counsel in closing.
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