Criminal Procedure: A Comparative Note on Joint Trials

Abstract

IN recent times the appellate courts in England have had to consider those rules of criminal procedure which deal with the trial on indictment together of a number of defendants.1 It would seem that nowadays the traditional rules are being interpreted rather widely so as to make it difficult for defendants to avoid a joint trial provided certain minimum requirements are met. The English rules are usually classified under two heads: first, there are the rules stipulating the circumstances under which two or more defendants can be joined in the one indictment; and, secondly, there are the rules concerning the discretionary power in the hands of the trial judge to sever for trial defendants jointly indicted where it is in the interests of justice so to do.2 Traditionally, these rules have been considered separately from those concerned with the of offences even though it is quite clear that the two subjects are inextricably entwined.3 This segregation can be partly explained by the fact that offence is governed by statute 4 whereas joinder lies almost entirely within the province of the common law. It may be that the time has come to draft rules dealing with the simultaneous trial of multiple issues (whether arising from party or offence or both) bearing in mind that the most important consideration is that jurors should be able to understand the matters presented to them. It is clear that in England and Wales two or more defendants may be joined in the same indictment if they are alleged to have