Lord Hardie's Critical Report

freethekillie2Joined: 27 Apr 2007Posts: 77
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 6:48 am Post subject:

[this is some words out of lord hardies report] examination of the scene by police officers, forensic scientists and the pathologist disclosed that the electricity had been switched off at the main switch located in a kitchen cupboard . the kitchen was the first room to which access was obtained after entering the unlocked side door of the house. the telephone downstairs had also been disconnected and the zimmer, which was always located at the foot of the stairs to enable mrs irvine to use it there when she came of the stair lift, had been moved away from the area so it could not be used in those circumstances. each of the rooms showed signs of an intruder or intruders having opened drawers and jewellery boxes and having moved items. althought the intruders had been in each room of the house there was a locked wardrobe in the spare room. police officers found a key for this wardrobe and upon opening it discovered a bag containing a pink make up bag, an envelope and a cardboard holder each of which contained sums of money. in total there was £8,150. mrs irvine it was stated was robbed 6 weeks before and anything of importance was stolen. as i have stated on this forum police found purses under a slab in a garden in galston, one of which belonged to mrs irvine from the first robbery in july. also stated is brendans willingness to take a lie detector test, there are many witnesses never called to give evidence that could have undermined the crowns case.


Legal ruling set to delay city courts

HUNDREDS of cases at Scotland's busiest district court could be delayed following a legal ruling over the failure of prosecutors to disclose statements to defence lawyers.
At Glasgow District Court Stipendiary Magistrate Alan Findlay ordered the procurator fiscal to hand over statements and police notebooks in an assault and breach of the peace trial.
Stirling defence lawyer Virgil Crawford had argued the failure to do so, despite repeated requests, had breached the human rights of the two accused men.
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This week, after hearing extensive legal arguments, Stipendiary Magistrate Findlay ruled the defence lawyer was entitled to see the missing statements, police notebooks and details of previous convictions of witnesses.
He ordered the prosecution to produce them "without delay", but granted them leave to appeal.
The trial of the two accused, which should have been heard this month, has been put off until October 10.
Afterwards, Mr Crawford said: "Disclosure is happening in every district court except Glasgow.
"Here, the procurator fiscal's attitude is that if the prosecution has to work with the same statements from the police as the defence, what does it matter?
"That is not good enough. Under European Human Rights legislation the Crown is obliged to hand over all statements to the defence, particularly if they are requested.
"The implication of the ruling is that if every lawyer takes this particular human rights point he or she will win it, so trials could be further delayed for months while disclosure is carried out."
Earlier this year, when told the Crown had not handed over statements in a murder case, High Court judge, Lord Hardie, described the failure as an "act of defiance" and threatened to hold Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini in contempt of court.
Publication date 11/05/07


Thu 21 Dec 2006
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Murder suspects freed on bail after Crown's witness statement error
ARNOT MCWHINNIE
FOUR brothers accused of murder were freed on bail yesterday after the Crown failed to provide more than 100 witness statements to the defence.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that some of the 121 statements, which remained undisclosed by prosecutors until the trial began, could have been of major importance.

The judge, Lord Bracadale, called a temporary halt to the proceedings and set the four brothers free on bail pending a new trial early next year.
Friends and relatives of 29-year-old Michael Lynch, of Kennedar Drive, Linthouse, who was allegedly stabbed to death by the four brothers and another man who was already on bail, were furious as the accused walked from court.
A family friend, who asked not to be named, said: "It is beyond belief that a mistake by the Crown should allow the four accused, who have been in custody on a murder charge since the end of June, to be freed.
"They will doubtless enjoy a better Christmas dinner than they would have in custody."
Yesterday's case was the third murder trial in a few weeks to hit the buffers for the same non- disclosure reasons.
The problem was first identified last month in a trial before Lord Hardie, who made a legal order requiring the Crown to hand all statements in the case to the defence team within 24 hours. When the Crown failed to do so, the furious judge threatened to hold Scotland's new Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini, QC, in contempt of court for what he described as an "apparent act of defiance".
He was told that the Crown had no failsafe system of checking statements to be disclosed.
Yesterday, Lord Bracadale - who had earlier described the Crown's failings as "lamentable" - told the jury who had sat since last week without hearing any evidence that they were being discharged. He said: "Statements are usually disclosed at an early stage well before the trial.
"In this case, there has been a serious breakdown in arrangements and a vast amount of material has been produced by the Crown after the start of the trial."
He told jurors: "The experience is likely to leave you with a poor view of our criminal justice system in operation, but it is rare for cases to go as badly off the rails as this case did."
The prosecutor, Peter Hammond, revealed that a working party involving police and Crown officials was currently trying to develop a new system to ensure disclosure in all future cases.
The five men accused of murdering Mr Lynch near his home on June 23 this year are Christopher Donohoe, 16, and brothers Craig Hulley, 21, Graham, 19, Mark, 18, and Andrew, 16. In granting them bail, Lord Bracadale ordered that the brothers were tagged and under curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am.