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22 April 2016 / Polly Dyer
Issue: 7695 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Steering the right (disclosure) course

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Polly Dyer reviews the conclusions of a Court of Appeal master class in the proper approach to disclosure & abuse of process

Publication of the redacted judgment in R v R & Others [2015] EWCA Crim 1941, [2016] All ER (D) 06 (Jan) in December gave practitioners an excellent overview of the current law and practice on the disclosure of unused material in the prosecution’s possession, as well as guidance on the proper approach to disclosure and abuse of process.

Background

During the course of the investigation of this matter a number of electronic devices had been seized, such that the prosecution held some seven terabytes of data. The prosecution evidence had long since been served but five years had passed without the case progressing beyond an argument regarding whether the prosecution had complied with their duties of initial disclosure. Ultimately, the judge stayed the prosecution in respect of all counts of a draft indictment (which had not reached the stage of being preferred) as an abuse of process. The prosecution applied for

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