{"id":3397,"date":"2022-10-19T10:55:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T10:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rfblegal.co.uk\/?post_type=insight&p=3397"},"modified":"2025-04-29T13:28:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:28:49","slug":"seccion-28-el-creciente-uso-de-pruebas-pregrabadas-en-los-juicios-penales","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/rfblegal.co.uk\/es\/perspectivas\/seccion-28-el-creciente-uso-de-pruebas-pregrabadas-en-los-juicios-penales\/","title":{"rendered":"Secci\u00f3n 28: el creciente uso de pruebas pregrabadas en los juicios penales"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first of two articles, Piers Desser, Criminal<\/a> Litigios<\/a> Partner at Ronald Fletcher Baker, explains the origins of pre-recorded video evidence<\/a> used in courts and describes how the scheme works in practice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

El concepto de testimonio oral pregrabado en los tribunales penales no es nuevo. A pesar de que las pruebas grabadas en v\u00eddeo que se reproducen en el juicio parecen una novedad reciente, se concibieron hace d\u00e9cadas y su objetivo original era conseguir mejores pruebas para los testigos menores y vulnerables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The virtues of presenting evidence to a jury in this manner have been debated in the House of Commons on numerous occasions and the recent expansion of the scheme to include adicional<\/a> Crown Courts will<\/a> mean that more lawyers will need to engage<\/a> with this format of trial. Various aspects of this procedure are now worth considering afresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fue la Ley de Justicia Penal de 1988 la primera que hizo posible que un testigo declarara desde fuera de la sala del tribunal mediante una conexi\u00f3n en directo. El entonces Ministro del Interior, Douglas Hurd, se dio cuenta de las posibilidades que ofrec\u00eda y encarg\u00f3 una investigaci\u00f3n para estudiar nuevas iniciativas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Comit\u00e9 Pigot se bas\u00f3 en una amplia variedad de pruebas para hacer lo que en aquel momento eran propuestas radicales. Inclu\u00edan pruebas totalmente pregrabadas para algunos testigos, sobre todo en casos de acusaciones sexuales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

En cierto modo se adelant\u00f3 a su tiempo y algunas de esas propuestas han tardado a\u00f1os en ponerse en pr\u00e1ctica, lo que ha sido posible en parte gracias al art\u00edculo 28 de la Ley de Justicia Juvenil y Pruebas Penales de 1999, que trata directamente de las pruebas pregrabadas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Posibles riesgos para un juicio justo\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los beneficios para la justicia eran claros. La edad y la madurez deben apoyarse en un marco legislativo que permita ampliar las pruebas con claridad mediante un procedimiento que ofrezca protecci\u00f3n contra las presiones potencialmente injustas del sistema acusatorio y un examen s\u00f3lido.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allowing witnesses to give their account in a more comfortable environment, not on the witnesses stand<\/a>, and at an appropriate pace would lead to more reliable evidence, the committee reasoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Las desventajas del sistema eran los riesgos potenciales para un juicio justo. Grabar la declaraci\u00f3n de un testigo meses antes del propio juicio crea el riesgo de que haya que volver a llamar al testigo. El proceso judicial es notoriamente din\u00e1mico y la grabaci\u00f3n previa de la declaraci\u00f3n de un denunciante siempre pod\u00eda dar lugar a obst\u00e1culos pr\u00e1cticos en caso de que surgiera nueva informaci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, it was anticipated that cross-examination would be restricted to an extent that made it difficult for an advocate to properly challenge<\/a> the evidence of the witness, dulling the long-established techniques for undermining credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, Section 28 was rolled out to a number<\/a> of pilot courts and the procedure quickly built up its own conventions upon implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, the procedure commences with the police deciding that the case is suitable for the witness, frequently<\/a> the complainant, to give their account as a video recording, known as Achieving Best Evidence (ABE). This means that the genesis of the procedure relies upon an officer making such a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recording then becomes the witness\u2019s evidence in chief \u2013 which would be played to the jury at trial. The footage can be edited by agreement<\/a>, but a potential flaw of this method is that the prosecuting advocate is already bound by the narrative questioning set by the officer conducting the ABE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Vulnerable a la calidad del interrogatorio policial\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can have a discordant effect on how the prosecution<\/a> case is presented to the jury, especially in factually complex cases. It is also vulnerable to the quality of police questioning, which may be habitually suitable for a cautioned interview<\/a> with a suspect but not necessarily to adduce a jury-friendly version of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Una vez grabada la EBA, el caso que va a juicio se somete a una audiencia sobre las reglas de procedimiento para fijar un calendario para la grabaci\u00f3n del contrainterrogatorio seg\u00fan la secci\u00f3n 28. En esta fase, cabe destacar que las directrices establecen que todos los participantes -tanto el abogado como el juez- deben estar disponibles para cada fase del proceso, independientemente de otros compromisos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esto crea problemas a la hora de fijar plazos adecuados y exige un mayor nivel de obligaci\u00f3n que en los casos no incluidos en el sistema, lo que puede plantear problemas \u00e9ticos, en particular para los abogados defensores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adem\u00e1s, algunos tribunales han ordenado que los abogados defensores proporcionen una lista de preguntas antes de la fecha de la vista para su aprobaci\u00f3n judicial previa. Aunque la discusi\u00f3n previa de los temas del contrainterrogatorio es sin duda un ejercicio sensato, las preguntas preaprobadas son claramente un riesgo para la integridad del proceso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Section 28 hearing itself, the advocate will be inside the court room with the witness in a room in another<\/a> part of the court. Appropriate time periods are set for questioning and it is incumbent upon an advocate to request permission<\/a> from the judge to ask a derivative question should the witness\u2019s answer give opportunity to develop the point further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judges have a duty to intervene in the event that unsuitable questions are posed or the style of questioning is not appropriate to the witness. Short questions in plain English are the order of the day. The intention<\/a> of the scheme is that both ABE and the recorded product of the Section 28 cross-examination are played to the jury at trial, with the witness absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next time: In the second article to be published soon, Piers gives further insight<\/a> into Section 28 through personal experience and concludes his explanation of the scheme with consideration<\/a> of its future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information contact<\/a> Piers Desser directly on <\/strong>020 7613 7138 o correo electr\u00f3nico\u00a0p.desser@rfblegal.co.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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