Page 330 - Magistrates Conference 2019

R v Gray [2004] EWCA Crim 1074

■ On appeal, the court laid down 7 principles in attempting to

distil the law in relation to the giving of the good character

direction. Rix LJ stated that:

“(4) Where a defendant of previous good character,

whether absolute or, we would suggest, effective, has been
shown at trial, whether by admission or otherwise, to be guilty

of criminal conduct, the prima facie rule of practice is to deal

with this by qualifying a Vye direction rather than by

withholding it (Vye, Durbin, Aziz); but

(5) In such a case, there remains a narrowly

circumscribed residual discretion to withhold a good character

direction in whole, or presumably in part where it would make
no sense, or would be meaningless or absurd or an insult to

common sense, to do otherwise (Zoppola-Barrazza and dicta

in Durbin and Aziz).”