In England, if evidence is obtained under oppression or is unreliable, what should the court do?

• A. The court should not allow it
• B. The court must admit it
• C. It must be translated and verified
• D. The jury decides

Answer: (A)

In English law, evidence must be both obtained lawfully and be reliable in order to be used in court. When evidence is obtained under oppression or is otherwise unreliable, it undermines a fair trial and risks misleading the court and jury. The courts therefore exclude such evidence to protect the defendant’s rights and the integrity of the proceedings. This is supported by rules that allow the judge to exclude evidence if its admission would render the trial unfair, and, in the case of confessions or statements obtained through oppression, such evidence is typically inadmissible. Translating or independently verifying the material won’t fix the problem of coercion or unreliability; the appropriate remedy is to refuse to admit the evidence.