ABSTRACT
Given the right of the accused to a fair trial the prosecution should disclose to the accused in advance of the trial the nature of the allegation against him/ her and all the evidence on which the prosecution is to rely to secure conviction. This includes DNA evidence. The procedure of the primary disclosure of evidence is set out in the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CPIA). As directed by para 57 of the Attorney-General’s Guidelines on Disclosure (updated April 2005) the prosecutor should, ‘in addition to complying with the obligations under the Act, provide to the defence all evidence upon which the Crown proposes to rely in a summary trial. Such provision should allow the accused and their legal advisers sufficient time properly to consider the evidence before it is called.’
