Judicial Discretion to Exclude Prejudicial Evidence

The concern of this article is twofold. In the first place it seeks to question the weight and value of the authority upon which the House of Lords in Selvey v. Director of Public Prosecutions purported to found the existence of a judicial discretion to exclude, in a criminal trial, evidence which is both relevant and admissible, on the ground that it is prejudicial to the accused. Secondly, it seeks to evaluate the contribution which such a discretion has made and is likely to make to the theory and practice of the law of evidence.