The Court of Appeal has dismissed I.G.’s appeal against conviction, ruling that a doctor’s opinion about debris found during a complainant’s medical examination was admissible evidence at trial.
The appeal concerned evidence from Dr John Birmingham, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and forensic clinical examiner. During an examination on 8 July 2016, he observed foreign debris in the complainant’s natal fold. He told the jury it was “consistent with carpet, lying on a carpet or some such fabric”.
No sample of the debris was taken, retained or forensically analysed. The appellant argued that the doctor lacked the expertise to give that opinion and that the absence of material for testing impaired the defence. He also argued that the opinion’s prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value. The prosecution submitted that the opinion fell within the doctor’s expertise and could be admitted without independent forensic corroboration.
The trial judge admitted the evidence, finding that the doctor could testify about his observations and give an opinion within his area of expertise. The Court of Appeal agreed. It said Dr Birmingham’s work as a forensic medical examiner qualified him to give an opinion on the potential source of the debris, based on his experience and the history given to him. The court said there was no rule requiring such evidence to be corroborated before it could be received.
The court acknowledged that taking a sample might have helped, and that analysis of tape lifts taken from the stair carpet could potentially have supported or undermined the opinion. But the defence had made no request for analysis of those tape lifts. The court found no rational basis for saying the evidence’s prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value, and concluded that the absence of potentially relevant material did not make this an unfair trial or justify excluding the evidence.
The appeal was against the conviction, not the sentence. The judgment records that the jury had convicted I.G. of rape, two sexual assaults and making a threat to kill or cause serious harm; he was acquitted on other counts. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction.