The admissibility of a psychologist's diagnostic opinion evidence must be determined on a case-by-case basis by applying established expert evidence principles; it is not open for a judge to exclude such evidence merely because the witness is a psychologist rather than a psychiatrist. The admissibility of such evidence is a question of fact, not a question of law. In sentencing proceedings, failure to comply with s 13(3) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 will be material where the sentencing remarks do not otherwise reveal whether and how the guilty plea was taken into account, particularly where substantial mitigating material was before the court.
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