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You are prosecuting Stephanie, who is on trial in the Crown Court for an offence of kidnapping (an indictable only offence). On the day of trial, you are informed that Margot, a prosecution witness, will not be coming to Court. She has fled the country in fear of her safety, as Stephanie threatened to burn her alive if she came to court. While a useful witness, Margot is not essential to your case and her statement also contains a lot of material useful to the defence case. Therefore, you decide not to rely on her evidence. The defence make an application for Margot’s statement to be admitted as hearsay on the basis that she has not attended through fear. What is the most appropriate response to the defence application?

You represent Malachi at his sentencing hearing. At the PTPH Malachi pleaded guilty to a single offence of domestic burglary. The Judge ordered a pre-sentence report (PSR) on an ‘all options’ basis and warned Malachi that he was at significant risk of a custodial sentence being imposed. This is Malachi’s first offence and the author of the PSR assesses Malachi to be suitable for a community order or a suspended sentence order. Malachi asks you whether the Judge will take into account his guilty plea in deciding whether to impose a community order or a suspended sentence order. What is the correct advice to give Malachi? The sentencing judge

You represent Khalid, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing a prohibited weapon (an indictable only offence). Khalid’s defence is duress, and his defence statement sets out that he agreed to look after the weapon for Tariq, after Tariq made threats of serious violence against Khalid if he did not do so. Khalid also states that he only agreed because he believed the threats were true and he was scared for his life. Khalid informs you in conference that he has been told that Tariq has recently fled to Afghanistan where he is now in hiding. At a pre-trial hearing prosecution counsel tells you that if Khalid proposes to give evidence of what he alleges Tariq said to him, the prosecution will argue that it is inadmissible hearsay. What is the correct response to this assertion? That the evidence

You represent Denise, who is charged on an indictment with ten counts. Counts 1 and 2 are in the alternative and relate to the same credit card. Count 1 alleges theft of the card. Count 2 alleges dishonestly receiving it. Counts 3 to 10 each allege that Denise used the card fraudulently to purchase goods. Denise has been remanded in custody pending her PTPH. You have a conference with her in prison during which she instructs you that she stole the card and that she used it to purchase all the goods specified in Counts 3 to 10. She also tells you that she does not wish to be produced at court because she fears losing her place in her current prison cell and would prefer to be arraigned over a live link or for you to enter pleas on her behalf. What is the correct advice to give Denise?

You represent Brian at his PTPH on a single count of theft of £5,000 in cash from his employer. Brian pleads guilty but is adamant that he stole only £100 in cash. You ask prosecution counsel to agree a written basis of plea but they refuse. What is the correct approach for the Judge to take when dealing with Brian’s plea?

You prosecute Karl who is charged with rape. The complainant states that the incident took place in the early hours of the morning when she was walking home. She was approached from behind, dragged to a nearby garden and raped. She recognised her attacker as Karl, her ex-boyfriend. Since the complainant ended the relationship, Karl has been stalking her. He has sent numerous text messages and continually calls her phone. When interviewed under caution, Karl denied the allegation. Karl was brought before the magistrates’ court and refused bail. A further bail application was made at the Crown Court, which you opposed. However, Karl was released on conditional bail. You want to appeal the decision of the Crown Court Judge to grant bail. What is the correct course of action for you to take?

Saleem is on trial in the Crown Court charged with theft from a shop. When first questioned under caution, Saleem told the police he had been at home suffering with a cold. However, when the police proved this was false, Saleem subsequently admitted that at the time of the offence he was abroad with his employer’s wife, with whom he is having an affair. At trial, evidence of the lie has been adduced by the prosecution, although they do not rely on it as part of their case. What is the most appropriate decision for the Judge to take about whether to give a Lucas direction to the jury?

You represent Georgia, who is on trial in the Crown Court for ABH on a homeless man who was sleeping rough in the town centre. She was identified by Sunitha who witnessed the assault and claims to know Georgia. When Georgia is interviewed under caution she denies knowing Sunitha and asks the police to carry out an identification procedure. In breach of PACE 1984 Code D, the police refuse, on the grounds that it is unnecessary. The Prosecution indicate that, as a result of Sunitha’s evidence, they have a strong case against Georgia. What is the most appropriate way for you to deal with Sunitha’s identification evidence?

You are prosecuting Alfred in the Crown Court for possessing a controlled drug of Class A with intent to supply. The case against Alfred is that he is part of a drugs gang which imports large quantities of heroin into the country and distributes them to a network of street dealers. Alfred was arrested in possession of 2 kgs of heroin concealed in the false bottom of a suitcase. He was with two other gang members at the time who are his co-defendants. The gang were observed and covertly recorded by police for a period of time and Alfred appears on a number of the recordings in company with other gang members. His defence is that he was asked to look after the suitcase by his co-defendants but that he had no idea what was inside. In interview, he accepted that he spent a lot of time with his co-defendants, but they were just friends he met through work. Alfred says he has no knowledge about drugs or drug dealing and therefore did not pick up on their activities. He has one previous conviction for supplying a small quantity of a Class B drug (cannabis) 4 years ago. You apply to adduce evidence of Alfred’s previous conviction. What is the best gateway to use in support of your application?

Kevin has been convicted of s.18 GBH and is to be sentenced in the Crown Court. The Judge believes that a sentence under the dangerous offender provisions may be appropriate. He is considering whether Kevin is a dangerous offender under the Sentencing Act 2020. What test must the Judge apply to determine this?