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This Nuffield Foundation funded research project examines how the type of evidence and the way it is presented in court affects perceptions of evidence and judicial decision‐making.
This project has involved joint work with the senior judiciary and MoJ, evaluating the impact of s.28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 on defendant pleas and case outcomes ﴾section 28 allows for the pre‐ recording of witness cross‐examination in certain cases including with child witnesses and adults in sexual offences and modern slavery cases﴿
Nuffield Foundation Project - Juries the Digital Courtroom and Special Measures
In 2023‐24 Professor Thomas conducted the first independent analysis of s28, which involved large scale data analysis covering over 28,000 charges against defendants in the Crown Court where pre‐recorded evidence was used covering the period 2016‐2023. This resulted in a published submission to the Justice Select Committee to assist in the Committee's inquiry in the impact of s28. Even though this was a preliminary analysis, the high policy significance of this research resulted in a substantial amount of media coverage. For instance:
- BBC: Rape complaints warned pre-recording evidence could backfire
- Law Society Gazette: https://misc.pagesuite.com/pdfdownload/86a43811‐a476‐4fa2‐b2c9‐0aaf99b91e78.pdf
It was the subject of discussion in the Lady Chief Justice's evidence to the Justice Select Committee;
Work of the Lady Chief Justice - Oral evidence
As an important policy area, Professor Thomas is engaged with a wide range of legal professionals and policy makers on this research including: Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, CPS, Police, Criminal Bar Association, Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, Scottish Criminal Bar Association, Scottish Law Society, Victim Support ﴾E&W and Northern Ireland﴿, NSPCC, The Lighthouse.