Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Suppressio Veri, Suggestio Falsi (Again)

The Sun has the perfect tabloid take on this story in which a witness had her evidence rejected because she was 'too honest'. Anyone with a passing knowledge of criminal law would realise that identification evidence (which hers apparently was) is notoriously fallible, and is hedged around with case law, in particular R v Turnbull, a case that every magistrate hears about sooner or later. Unless I am mistaken the judge felt obliged in the interests of justice to call a halt, since her ID evidence was legally just too thin, and her manner all too convincing - she was almost certainly telling the truth, but the dangers of the ID were overwhelming and the Court of Appeal waiting in the wings.
So fasten your seatbelts for a tabloid-led chase, with the out-of-touch old duffer in the wig being pilloried for being so horrid to such a nice girl who has been wronged by such a nasty man.

The Sun's readers' comments are often beyond parody:- just scroll to the bottom of the Sun article. (link was a bit dodgy - sorry).

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