Criminal Practice, Aug 2009

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QUESTION 1

Peter had been arrested and charged with the offence of larceny. Allprocedures with regard to his arrest and caution had been observed. When hewas in the cell at the police station he asked the police officer if he could get bail.

The officer indicated that he did not have the authority to grant bail.

Due to several other persons needing to be processed at the policestation, Peter was left in his cell for 48 hours. He was then taken before themagistrate. The magistrate called upon Peter, read the charge to him and askedhim how he pleaded. Peter pleaded not guilty to the offence.

Peter again asked for bail but the magistrate denied him bail. Themagistrate said nothing else to Peter. The matter was adjourned to the followingweek and Peter was remanded to Her Majestys prison.

Peter has written to you from the prison and wants to know if all that

transpired with regard to his matter was in accordance with proper practice andprocedure.

Advise Peter.

QUESTION 2

During his trial for the offence of rape, Paul interrupted the judge twicewhile the judge was speaking to the jury. On each occasion the judge warnedPaul that he needed to be quiet. The judge had Paul removed from the

courtroom after Paul had interrupted him for the third time.

The next day Paul refused to attend his trial and stayed in the cell at thepolice station. The judge proceeded with the trial in his absence. Mr. Snape,attorney for Paul, cross-examined several witnesses for the prosecution andmade several objections to the admission of evidence from the prosecution.

On the next day of the trial, Paul attended court and the trial proceeded tocompletion. All practice and procedure was observed. Paul was convicted and,after due process, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Paul does not believe that he has had a fair trial since he was not present

for two days and he did not get a chance to hear all the evidence against him. Healso does not believe that his attorney had the authority to attend the trial withouthim and to cross-examine witnesses.

Paul has written to you from prison and wants your advice on theseissues.

Advise Paul.TURN OVER

QUESTION 3

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EDLS Criminal Practice & Procedure August 2009 Examinations

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Hermoine is sixteen years old. Two weeks ago she went into the localgrocery store and stole several items. She was duly arrested and charged withthe theft of these items. At the local police station Hermoine was placed in the

same cell as several adults.

Later that day Susan, Hermoines mother, came to the police station andasked if her daughter could be given bail. This request was refused by the officerin charge of the station.

The next day Hermoine was taken before the juvenile panel. Mr. Snooksappeared for Hermoine. The magistrate in charge of the panel determined thatthe matter ought to be tried indictably and decided to send the matter to theregular summary court to be dealt with there. Mr. Snooks objected to this courseof action. The magistrate indicated that she would still send the matter to the

regular summary court and she proceeded to do so. She adjourned the matterand remanded Hermoine to the home for juvenile delinquent girls.

Mr. Snooks is an attorney in the firm where you are doing your in-servicetraining. He has passed the file to you for your opinion on all that has transpiredin the matter, from arrest to the remand.

Give Mr. Snooks your opinion.

QUESTION 4

Gandalf was on trial in the Supreme Court for the offence of murder.During the course of trial Mr. Snape, who appeared for Gandalf, referred to theprosecutor as an attorney who was a stranger to the truth. He also referred to thetrial judge as someone who ought to recuse himself from the trial. He said thatthe judge is known as a hanging judge, that is, a judge that is known to have aleaning to the prosecution.

The trial judge, Mr. Justice Smith, told Mr. Snape to desist from hisremarks and to take his seat. Mr. Snape replied that it was just as he hadexpected from a hanging judge and that he did not expect his client to get a fairtrial.

Attorney for the prosecution rose and asked that the matter be adjournedso that he may be able to prepare remarks to the jury on what Mr. Snape hadsaid to the trial judge. The trial judge refused to do so.

TURN OVER

In his closing address to the jury, attorney for the prosecution referred toGandalf as someone from whom society ought to be protected. He urged the jury

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Paul was at a revival meeting where he was preaching the word of God.Several persons in the audience did not like what he was saying and decided toset upon him and beat him. One of the antagonists, Mark, handed his coat toStephen and told him to hold it while he beat Paul.

The police were called to the scene and arrived while the fracas wastaking place. Several of the antagonists ran off but the police arrested Matthew,Mark and Stephen. All three men were charged with the indictable offence ofwounding occasioning bodily harm.

Stephen has visited your office to consult you on the merits of his being joined in the charge. He wants to know whether what has been done by thepolice is in accordance with proper practice and procedure. He also wants toknow whether he can be tried separately from the other accused persons.

Advise Stephen.

QUESTION 7

Snowy was before the summary court for the offence of wounding PeterPan. When Snowy appeared before the magistrate, the magistrate read thecharge to him and asked him how he pleaded. Mr. Tintin, who appeared forSnowy, rose to his feet and said, Your worship, my client pleads not guilty to thisoffence. The magistrate entered a plea of not guilty for Snowy.

During the course of trial, after several witnesses for the prosecution gaveevidence and were cross-examined, Snowy rose and indicated that he wished to

change his plea to one of guilty. The magistrate allowed this. Before sentence,the magistrate put the allocutus to Snowy. Snowy said that he hit Peter becausePeter hit him first. The magistrate then refused to accept the plea of guilty andcontinued with the trial.

At the end of the trial, the magistrate found Snowy guilty of the offence.The magistrate proceeded to duly sentence Snowy to three monthsimprisonment. He also ordered Snowy to pay compensation to Peter Pan in thesum of six hundred dollars.

One week after being sentenced Snowy wrote to you. He wants youradvice as to whether all that transpired during his trial was in accordance with

proper practice and procedure. Further, he asks for your advice as to whether hissentence should have been more lenient since he had tried to plead guilty.

Advise Snowy.TURN OVER

QUESTION 8

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Niles was at his job at the radio station sorting out some papers whenFraser and Roz came in. They proceeded to beat Niles and robbed him of hiswallet containing several hundred dollars. They also stole his gold chain and goldring together valued at twelve thousand dollars.

As they exited the building, they saw Daphne driving by in her newMercedes Benz. They jumped into the car. Roz hit Daphne several times in herface. She then took out a gun and shot Daphne in her leg. Fraser shouted toRoz, Where did you get that gun from? I did not come to shoot anyone. I justwanted some quick money for the big concert this weekend! Fraser and Roztook control of the vehicle and drove off with Daphne bleeding in the back seat.

Several pedestrians, who saw Fraser and Roz hit Daphne and drive off inher car, called the police. Fraser and Roz were arrested two blocks away. Allprocedures with regard to their arrest were duly observed by the police.

You are doing your in-service training at The Office of the Attorney- Generaland the file has been passed to you.

1. Draft the voluntary bill of indictment against Fraser and Roz.

2. Give reasons for indicting as you did.

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Documents

Criminal Practice, Aug 2009