Page 467 - Magistrates Conference 2019

THE TEST TO BE SATISFIED: PRE- R V P

 The mere fact that the accused has, in the past,

committed a crime of a broadly similar type is

not, of itself, enough.

 It is the particularity of detail which renders the

past behaviour admissible, when compared

with the behaviour alleged on the instant

occasion.

 In R v Boardman [1975] AC 421, Lord Morris,

for example, referred to “a close or striking

similarity” and “an underlying unity”

 These phrases describe a commonality of

compared events which cannot be ignored if

one is to avoid “an affront to common sense”.

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