Episode 6 of Rape on Trial sees us back in Court 2 as Dean's rape trial continues. Dean stands accused of rape and sexual assault against Anya, his girlfriend/partner at the material time.

We pick up where we left off in episode 5, with Anya about to undergo cross-examination. In contrast to the cross-examination of rape complainants in Tariq and Jerome's trials, Anya's experience in the witness box aligns more closely with what we might expect to see, given mainstream accounts of rape trials and the conduct of defence counsel.

Topics and elements of the trial covered in this episode: cross-examination of the complainant; the evidence of the arresting officer; recalling the complainant; judge's interventions; dealing new lines of inquiry in the course of the trial; agreed statements; the testimony of the officer in the case (evidence-in-chief and cross-examination; discussion of the prosecution's bad character application and a pending defence submission.

A must listen for those studying criminal law, criminal evidence and procedure, advocacy and trial strategy, criminal justice, and criminology as well as those interested in forensic linguistics and forensic psychology.

As a detailed and comprehensive account of real court proceedings in a criminal trial in an adversarial, common law legal system, this is also an excellent resource for international students learning Legal English, the Language of Law, and comparative law.

Legal English Learning Practice

Legal English Comprehension Practice

Legal English Vocabulary

Applied Legal English

Legal English in the courtroom

The research behind Rape on Trial also features in our book: Doak et al, Cross-examination on Trial: Advocacy and Vulnerability in Criminal Trials (BUP 2025).

https://amzn.to/49oVqG2

This is an Amazon affiliate link which pays me a small commission.

If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, please visit our website https://criminaljusticeinaction.com for information about help and support.

Music: Hopeless Waltz by Alena Smirnova.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.