AC 2.4 Assess key influences affecting the outcome of criminal cases
Evidence
Evidence must only be presented in court in the form of physical or testimonial evidence. It is up to each
jury member or each magistrate to attach whatever weight they consider appropriate to each piece of
evidence. The two types of evidence are extremely important in proving a defendant's innocence or
guilt. An adequate amount of evidence is required by CPS for a case to go through to court as it needs to
be worth the time, money and resources used otherwise they will not warrant it – it needs to be likely
that something will come of it e.g., a guilty verdict. The prosecution aims to prove the defendant is
guilty. This is known as a burden of proof which is what the prosecutors are focused on while the court
focuses on the standard of proof. This means that they must prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the
defendant is guilty. It is down to the jury members to decide whether they are 100% certain a defendant
is guilty, if the prosecution cannot prove this the defendant must be acquitted. CCTV footage (physical
evidence) can have a major impact on the outcome of a criminal case and is very reliable in court. This is
due to it being factual rather than interpretational, i.e., the defendant has been caught on camera
committing the crime. This was shown in the case of the London Nail Bombings, where a total of three
attacks were carried out over a period of thirteen days which involved the use of homemade nail bombs
containing as many as 1500 four-inch nails. The Metropolitan Police were able to identify a suspect
named David Copeland, he was caught on CCTV during his second attack in Brixton. He was convicted of
murder and given six life sentences. In the case of testimonial evidence, it is provided by witnesses or
victims and is not always factual. There are different factors that present testimonial evidence as
unreliable, one being they must give their personal account of the crime from memory. Their
recollection of the crime can be altered if they are in contact with other witnesses or victims that
remember the situation differently. Also, a person may give an account of events that didn’t happen due
to nervousness or fear. This causes evidence to be unreliable, leading to wrongful convictions and
miscarriages of justice. In the case of Colin Stagg, they had no evidence to prove that he was guilty and
was the murderer of Rachell Nickell, so they used the ‘honey trap operation’ in which undercover officer
‘Lizzie’ wrote to him taking an interest in him and his sexual fantasies. He told her he was wrongfully
arrested for the murder and that he was innocent. However, due to the psychological profile fitting him
he was arrested and charged with her murder even though there was a lack of evidence. When the trial
took place, the judge ruled the honey trap evidence as inadmissible due to the way it was brought
about. Also, they said that it was a blatant attempt to incriminate a suspect by positive and deceptive
conduct of the grossest kind. People still assumed it was Stagg even after the charges were dropped and
he was freed. Overall, evidence has a positive impact on the outcome of a case as they porivde the
building blocks needed for a conviction, without evidence there would be no proof that the suspect
committed the crime. This means evidence is the reason criminals are convicted because it needs to be
shown to the courts that they are the offender or it could lead to wrongful convictions and miscarriges
of justice.
Judge
A key influence that affects the outcome of a case is the judiciary which includes the judge. The jury gets
the final say on the verdict and it is the judge’s role to decide the sentence, but the judge cannot affect
the juries' decision. The judge on the case has the power to dismiss the case, order a retrial or direct the
jury towards a decision they should pick. If a judge is more biased to a specific side in a case then the
Evidence
Evidence must only be presented in court in the form of physical or testimonial evidence. It is up to each
jury member or each magistrate to attach whatever weight they consider appropriate to each piece of
evidence. The two types of evidence are extremely important in proving a defendant's innocence or
guilt. An adequate amount of evidence is required by CPS for a case to go through to court as it needs to
be worth the time, money and resources used otherwise they will not warrant it – it needs to be likely
that something will come of it e.g., a guilty verdict. The prosecution aims to prove the defendant is
guilty. This is known as a burden of proof which is what the prosecutors are focused on while the court
focuses on the standard of proof. This means that they must prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the
defendant is guilty. It is down to the jury members to decide whether they are 100% certain a defendant
is guilty, if the prosecution cannot prove this the defendant must be acquitted. CCTV footage (physical
evidence) can have a major impact on the outcome of a criminal case and is very reliable in court. This is
due to it being factual rather than interpretational, i.e., the defendant has been caught on camera
committing the crime. This was shown in the case of the London Nail Bombings, where a total of three
attacks were carried out over a period of thirteen days which involved the use of homemade nail bombs
containing as many as 1500 four-inch nails. The Metropolitan Police were able to identify a suspect
named David Copeland, he was caught on CCTV during his second attack in Brixton. He was convicted of
murder and given six life sentences. In the case of testimonial evidence, it is provided by witnesses or
victims and is not always factual. There are different factors that present testimonial evidence as
unreliable, one being they must give their personal account of the crime from memory. Their
recollection of the crime can be altered if they are in contact with other witnesses or victims that
remember the situation differently. Also, a person may give an account of events that didn’t happen due
to nervousness or fear. This causes evidence to be unreliable, leading to wrongful convictions and
miscarriages of justice. In the case of Colin Stagg, they had no evidence to prove that he was guilty and
was the murderer of Rachell Nickell, so they used the ‘honey trap operation’ in which undercover officer
‘Lizzie’ wrote to him taking an interest in him and his sexual fantasies. He told her he was wrongfully
arrested for the murder and that he was innocent. However, due to the psychological profile fitting him
he was arrested and charged with her murder even though there was a lack of evidence. When the trial
took place, the judge ruled the honey trap evidence as inadmissible due to the way it was brought
about. Also, they said that it was a blatant attempt to incriminate a suspect by positive and deceptive
conduct of the grossest kind. People still assumed it was Stagg even after the charges were dropped and
he was freed. Overall, evidence has a positive impact on the outcome of a case as they porivde the
building blocks needed for a conviction, without evidence there would be no proof that the suspect
committed the crime. This means evidence is the reason criminals are convicted because it needs to be
shown to the courts that they are the offender or it could lead to wrongful convictions and miscarriges
of justice.
Judge
A key influence that affects the outcome of a case is the judiciary which includes the judge. The jury gets
the final say on the verdict and it is the judge’s role to decide the sentence, but the judge cannot affect
the juries' decision. The judge on the case has the power to dismiss the case, order a retrial or direct the
jury towards a decision they should pick. If a judge is more biased to a specific side in a case then the
