Criminal evidence is an area of the law that is both highly complex and rapidly changing. All criminal practitioners must have a clear understanding of the principles and practice of the relevant rules of evidence. The sixth edition of May on Criminal Evidence provides just such an understanding. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 made enormous changes to much of the law on criminal evidence and that, combined with the extent of amending and subsequent legislation and case law, means that access to a comprehensive account and analysis of the present-day law is essential for criminal practitioners. Another development has been the growing importance of the European Convention on Human Rights and its application to the law of England and Wales. The principles of the Convention
and their analysis by the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg are now embedded in English law and practice and are deftly interwoven into the text of this edition. Recent developments in case law and legislation in all areas of criminal evidence are also covered.
- The meaning and classification of evidence; best evidence; admissibility and relevance; real evidence; documents
- The burden and standard of proof
- Exclusionary rules and exceptions: evidence of opinion; character; hearsay including confessions.
- Exclusion through discretion; privilege; public interest; Convention rights
- Identification; corroboration; suspect evidence
- Rules connected with the trial: functions of judge, jury, justices; competence and compellability of witnesses; disclosure; course of evidence; previous consistent statements; examination of witnesses
