Fresh evidence bearing only on the credibility of police witnesses must be assessed not only for its admissibility but also for whether the witness's credibility was actually in issue at trial. Where a witness's evidence was uncontested, evidence impugning that witness's credibility in other proceedings cannot affect the outcome. The collateral evidence rule remains a significant barrier to the use of credibility evidence in fresh evidence appeals, as the cross-examiner is bound by the answers given and cannot call rebuttal evidence. The question of which evidentiary regime applies to retrials following pre-Evidence Act convictions was left open.
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