News In Focus
3 July 2009
Test case opens over use of police interview evidence
Police could be forced to allow a solicitor to be present during interviews with a suspect, depending on the outcome of a test case being heard by three senior appeal judges.
The European Court of Human Rights decided recently in a case from Turkey that denying legal assistance to a youth while in police custody had been a violation of the right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Defence lawyers here have taken that judgment to challenge evidence obtained during police questioning.
A test case, involving a youth accused of stealing a car and setting fire to it, has begun a hearing before the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.
Scotland's senior judge, Lord Justice General Hamilton, will rule on the case along with Lord Kingarth and Lady Cosgrove.
The outcome could affect thousands of cases going through the courts in which the Crown is relying on police interview evidence. A successful appeal would be likely to result in attempts to take appeals in earlier cases where convictions have been secured using such evidence, and the police would have to review how they conduct interviews with suspects.