Beginning the trial: prosecution opening, admissions and prosecution evidence

Orient the tribunal before proving the case. In the magistrates’ court, a previously entered not-guilty plea is confirmed. The prosecutor may give a concise opening explaining the allegation, relevant law and anticipated disputes. The court can invite the defence to identify the issues. In the Crown Court, the jury is selected and sworn, the counts are identified and its verdict task is explained. The prosecutor may open; the judge can invite a focused defence identification of the issues. If that invitation is declined, the Rules permit the judge to direct that an appropriately edited defence statement be supplied to the jury. This is not an unrestricted entitlement to publish all defence material. See CrimPR 24.3 and 25.9(2)(a)–(c).

An opening is advocacy, not evidence. Its function is to explain what the prosecution expects the admissible evidence to establish and why it matters. It must not exaggerate, introduce inadmissible material or substitute assertion for proof. A fact mentioned confidently in opening remains unproved unless evidence or a valid admission establishes it. Conversely, an inelegant opening does not require an acquittal if the evidence proves the case.

Admission and weight are separate decisions. An audio recording, document, photograph or physical object does not become evidence merely because the parties possess it. Identify a lawful way to introduce it and the purpose for which it is admissible. A confession, hearsay statement or bad-character allegation may require a distinct legal test; the detailed tests belong to Deep Dives 6–8. A witness’s competence and the arrangements for receiving their account belong to Deep Dive 9. Once material is admitted, the fact-finder assesses its weight within any limits directed by the court.

A formal admission narrows proof. Under Criminal Justice Act 1967, s 10, an admissible fact can be formally admitted by or on behalf of a party. While the admission stands, it is conclusive against that party for those proceedings. It is not merely an indication that the party probably will not dispute the point. The admission can be withdrawn only with the court’s permission; changing tactics does not undo it automatically. The statute governs who may make or approve an admission and requires an out-of-court admission to be in writing. CrimPR 24.6 and 25.13 require the admitted fact to be recorded in writing unless the court directs otherwise.

An admission of one fact is not a guilty plea. Draft it to identify precisely what is admitted and what remains disputed. Nor is a witness statement admitted under CJA 1967, s 9 the same thing as a conclusive admission under s 10: a statement is evidence received through a permitted documentary route. Do not silently turn acceptance of a document’s admissibility into agreement that every assertion in it is true. The preparation and notice requirements are considered with the relevant evidence route, not replaced by this trial overview.

Make a legal objection at the appropriate point. State the affected evidence or question, the legal basis and the remedy sought. The remedy may be exclusion, redaction, a restriction on use, or a direction to the fact-finder. In a jury trial, a contested admissibility issue is ordinarily resolved without exposing the jury to the very material which may be excluded. In the magistrates’ court the same tribunal decides law and fact, but must still keep an exclusion ruling separate from its assessment of the admissible evidence. Trial management under CrimPR Parts 3, 24 and 25 does not remove the applicable evidence test.