Study of Requests for Disclosure of Evidence to Third Parties in Contested Trials

• NCJ Number: 187831
• Author(s): Alan Mackie; John Burrows
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Research Findings, No. 134

Annotation

This paper presents findings from a British study that examined the problems that arise from the practice of third-party disclosure of evidence in relation to child abuse and serious fraud cases.

Abstract

The study of child abuse cases focused on practices in three areas: Lancashire, West Yorkshire, and the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In both the "before" and "after" studies, inquiries were made of a range of agencies that were likely to be asked to produce material in child abuse cases. These third parties were local authority social service and education departments, probation service, and health service. Third parties, such as social service and education authorities, responding to requests for disclosure of information stated that the procedure could be onerous and costly; however, applications for disclosure were rare. Most requests were for the disclosure of social services and education records. Individual applications could be disruptive for the local authority legal departments, which handle these applications. Probation and health services were rarely, if ever, asked to disclose information. The Crown Prosecution Service reported limited involvement in the process of third-party disclosure in either serious fraud or child abuse cases. Evidence from the Crown Court suggested that neither the old nor the new procedures had been, or were currently, invoked very often. Many of the difficulties with third-party disclosure were attributed to defense solicitors making speculative applications; however, defense solicitors in the child abuse study reported that they would rarely seek disclosure from third parties, relying instead on alternative lines of defense. Defense lawyers in the serious fraud study indicated there were difficulties in completing a specific application for disclosure in the absence of information on what records were held by the third party. The research found that many practitioners - particularly in the Crown Prosecution Service, defense solicitors, and the Crown Courts - were unaware of the new procedure. This may be a consequence of the rarity with which the new procedure is invoked. 1 reference