Open Justice? What Is the Problem With Tweeting From a Scottish Court?

On 31^st October Lord Hodge dealt with the long awaited application for the liquidation of the former Rangers Football Club PLC. The hearing at the Court of Session took much of the day, as counsel for the administrators and for a creditor argued over whether the order should be granted; whether the fees charged by the administrators should be reduced; and whether or not there should be a continuing investigation into allegations of conflict of interest on the part of Duff & Phelps, the administrators.

Coverage of the hearing was sparse as it proceeded. There is a ban on “tweeting” from Scottish courts. Indeed, when it was brought to the judge’s attention that tweets from the @Huddleboard account seemed to be coming from the court, those in attendance, including members of the public, were asked to confirm that their phones were off and that they were not tweeting. It was made clear that anyone “live tweeting” the case faced being found in contempt of court.

Not surprisingly no one owned up to being the tweeter. It was left to bloggers like me to fill the gap by taking what information had leaked out of the courtroom and trying to explain what I thought was going on.

At the lunch break, and at the close of the hearing there was then a mad rush by journalists and spectators to tweet what had happened, and one in particular, @mdkster, was kind enough to let me reproduce on the blog his detailed tweets regarding the morning’s proceedings.

Joan McAlpine MSP Gets It Oh So Wrong on the Supreme Court Asbestos Case – No Lassie No!

It is the job of Parliament, both at Westminster and Holyrood, to make laws. Whilst a parliament full of lawyers is a prospect too horrible to contemplate, one would hope that the MPs and MSP’s charged with passing legislation would have some grasp of the issues before them. That often seems lacking however.

In addition, as I have mentioned before, the standard of coverage of legal issues in the Scottish media falls far short of the levels of the past, and of what helps properly to enlighten the public.

On 20th September the Scotsman printed a fine example of the “double whammy” of a journalist and MSP producing a woefully inaccurate article.

Step forward Joan McAlpine, SNP list MSP for the South of Scotland. Ms McAlpine has had a distinguished career in journalism, and latterly moved into blogging with the acclaimed Go Lassie Go blog. In May she won a seat at Holyrood.

On 20th September however her piece was so incorrect and inaccurate that there was some discussion about whether or not it could have been part of a “Spot the Deliberate Mistake” competition!

Her article seems to have been written as a follow up to this earlier piece by Gareth Rose. Mr Rose wrote his piece, with comments from interested parties and despite an over statement of the effects of the particular condition referred to, namely “pleural plaques”, there was little to fault.

This would appear to have prompted Ms McAlpine to pick up her pen and she wrote, under the headline “Shameless Effort to Evade Justice may Affect us all” about the legal challenge brought to the UK Supreme Court by insurers seeking to overturn the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009, passed by the Scottish Parliament.

 

 

 

“ANYONE who thinks the row over the Supreme Court is esoteric should pay attention to a case due in the next few weeks, when insurance companies ask judges to “protect” them from workers with industrial disease. The Supreme Court is asked to overturn an Act of the Scottish Parliament that compensates workers exposed to asbestos on the grounds that this popular legislation violates insurers’ human rights.

The decision is due this Wednesday 12^th October, the case having been argued at the UK Supreme Court, and televised live on the internet, in June. Mr Rose noted the due date for the judgment but Ms McAlpine seems to have missed that.

The case is not about insurers asking for protection from workers with industrial diseases either. The case is about whether or not the Scottish Parliament has the competence, standing the terms of the devolution settlement, to pass such a law. Whilst there are a number of claimants named in the proceedings who are persons alleging that they suffer from pleural plaques, they were not sued by AXA and the other insurers, but intervened in the case to have their voices heard, as they were allowed to do by Lord Uist reported at AXA Insurance and Others v Lord Advocate and Others [2010] CSOH 36.

The issue is undoubtedly an important one, but not for the reasons suggested by Ms McAlpine. And the popularity of a piece of legislation has no bearing, as far as I can see, on its legality!

 

 

Now you might think the man with damaged lungs is more deserving of legal protection than the loss adjuster. It’s one thing to respect the dignity and privacy of all human beings, no matter what they have done. But extending this principal (sic) from individuals to institutions is a bizarre development. Do insurance companies bleed? Do they gasp for breath?

Let’s pass quickly over the spelling mistake and move to the next errors. Ms McAlpine seems surprised that insurance companies are claiming the protection of “human rights”. Whilst that might, at first glance, look odd, the position has been clear for many years. Article 6(1) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms provides, inter alia, that “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations…everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” The full title of the ECHR refers to fundamental freedoms and is not restricted to human persons only. A company is, in law, a legal entity and it too has the right referred to under Article 6 for example. There is no issue therefore about a company having “human rights”. It does.

Ms McAlpine, echoing Shylock in the Merchant of Venice, then goes on to contrast the flesh and blood worker with the soulless corporation. But her reference to “gasp for breath” is, as I will show below, also inept.

If they prick us, do we not wheeze...or something like that?

 

 

Asbestos is now recognised as a carcinogen. The lagging and insulation material was once widely used in construction, and particularly in the traditional shipbuilding communities such as Glasgow, Clydebank and Greenock. Survivors tell stories of leaving footprints in deadly dust that covered workshop floors like a light dusting of snow.

Asbestos was hailed upon its discovery as a fantastic material – waterproof, fire-resistant and easy to use. However, it had one drawback – its use could prove fatal to those who worked with it or who inhaled the asbestos dust of fibres. By saying that “now” asbestos is recognised as a carcinogen ignores the fact that that has been acknowledged since at latest the 1970’s.

 

In 2007, judges in the House of Lords in their wisdom decided that pleural plaques were a condition that merited no compensation – reversing the practice of 20 years. The decision prevented future sufferers from pursuing a claim and those who had started one were then left with nothing – the UK government has now retreated and offered the latter a one-off lump sum which is time limited.

The 2007 case, known as Rothwell [2007] UKHL 39, was where the House of Lords overturned around 20 years of legal understanding by declining to treat pleural plaques as being a compensatable injury. This was not some heartless decision by faceless judges, but a reasoned and principles, though widely disputed, judgment. To see why it came about, we need to look at what pleural plaques actually are.

The British Lung Foundation website gives us information on them. It states as follows:-

What are pleural plaques?

Pleural plaques are areas of scar tissue on the pleura. The pleura is a two-layered membrane surrounding the lungs and lining the inside of the rib cage. In virtually all instances of pleural plaques there are no symptoms and you can live with them without having any long-term problems with your health.

If you have pleural plaques, it does not mean that:

• you will go on to get a more serious disease
• you have a more serious disease at the moment
• you are likely to get a serious disease in the future.

While exposure to asbestos does carry a risk of developing a serious lung disease, such as asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer, scientific evidence shows that having a pleural plaque does not increase that risk. Pleural plaques are not the same as asbestosis and they are not a pre-malignant form of cancer.

…

Do people need treatment for pleural plaques?

No. If you have been exposed to asbestos, but have no symptoms, such as breathlessness, there is no need to have any treatment. If you develop a cough which lasts a long time (more than three weeks) or you cough up blood, it is important to see your doctor straight away. Although these are not symptoms of pleural plaques, it may mean that you have a different, more serious, illness.

Does anyone die from having pleural plaques?

No.

Do people need an operation?

No. There is no need to treat pleural plaques in any way.

———————————————————————

So we have a symptomless condition that, whilst being a marker of asbestos exposure, is not a guarantee that any further condition will develop, nor is it a step on the way to the deadly asbestos related conditions such as mesothelioma. It was for this reason that, after 20 years where claimants for asymptomatic pleural plaques might receive from £5,000 – £10,000 compensation, the House of Lords decided that, as there was no “injury” within the legal meaning, there was no right to compensation.

The insurers, some of whom have gone out of business as a result of asbestos related liabilities, were delighted. Whilst the sums awarded by way of damages were much smaller than in an asbestosis or cancer case, the fact was that the vast bulk of asbestos injury claims related to pleural plaques. This decision therefore saved the insurers possibly billions of pounds. Understandably there was an outcry, but the Rothwell case did not attack the awards for conditions where there was suffering caused.

 

However the Scottish parliament moved to defend victims inside its legal jurisdiction and in 2009 passed The Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act to ensure the Lords decision did not apply here. It received cross party support in Holyrood. The insurance companies were shameless. This should not really surprise us – they had previously tortured asbestosis sufferers by dragging out their cases for years in the hope the claims would die with them.

Now I hold no great love for insurance companies – my professional career has been largely spent fighting with them, but we must acknowledge that insurers are a business looking to make a profit. As a result they try, as far as they can, to reduce what they pay out. However, the canard that they want to drag out cases till the claimant dies, and thus save money, is one long in the past. The law gives no advantage to the insurance company in these circumstances now, as the claim passes on to the deceased’s next of kin. In fact, some recent decisions at the Court of Session suggest that it might now cost insurers more where they claimant dies than if they survive.

To say that a business doing what it is legally obliged to do – namely to act in the interest of its shareholders, is shameless is unfair. Does Ms McAlpine wish the few remaining insurers based in Scotland, if “shameless”, to leave?

 

The companies challenged Holyrood’s 2009 Act, without a scintilla of embarrassment. Indeed they were brazen in their contempt, not just for the law but for the people of Scotland and the parliament we elected. When the Court of Session in Edinburgh twice throw out their challenge earlier this year, David Williams, the claims and underwriting director of Axa, was reported as saying the industry had always doubted that a Scottish Court would overturn an Act of the Scottish parliament. This insinuates our most senior judges are compromised by nationality.

The courts are there to adjudicate on legal disputes. Is Ms McAlpine suggesting that the insurers ought not to have been allowed to test the issues in court? I fail to see how using the procedures that are there can be seen as contemptuous towards the law, the people of Scotland and the Parliament. Ms McAlpine refers to the Scottish court twice “this year” throwing out the challenges.

In fact Lord Emslie, at [2010] CSOH 2, delivered a lengthy and erudite opinion running to 2409 paragraphs of detailed legal analysis. As might be guessed from the citation, that occurred in 2010, the decision being issued in fact on 8^th January that year.

The insurers appealed, as is their right, and this too was rejected by the Inner House, reported at [2011] CSIH 31. The Lord President, and Lords Eassie and Hardie determined that the insurers’ challenges failed. But at no time in either of these judgments did the courts indicate that they viewed the action of the insurers as ones of contempt. Indeed, in the penultimate paragraph of the appeal judgment, their Lordships stated “…while we have not found these matter free of difficulty, we have come to the conclusion that particularly in light of the considerations to which we referred in paragraph [144] above, it cannot be said that the decision to place financial responsibility on the insurers was one which lay outside the margin of appreciation which the legislature enjoys in this sphere.”

The insurers then proceeded to appeal to the UK Supreme Court. There has been a long-standing right of appeal in civil cases to the House of Lords, the UKSC’s predecessor. There are few of the constitutional issues which arose when some, including the First Minister, accused the UKSC of interfering in Scottish criminal law in the Fraser case. Whilst Mr Williams, quoted by Ms McAlpine, was not tactful, his comments were much less offensive to the judges, I would guess, than those of Mr Salmond and Mr MacAskill, who accused the UKSC of “ambulance chasing”! As Ms McAlpine is a staunch Scottish Nationalist, one might think she would be happy that the Scottish courts have a reputation for standing up for Scottish law!

 

Williams went on to declare the insurance companies intention of challenging the act outside of Scotland: “The Supreme Court is our best chance. We are bullish and will be preparing for the next steps of the case.”

There seems to be a refrain in the SNP of treating the UKSC as a “foreign” court. Yes, it sits in London, but generally has at least two Scottish judges sitting in any Scottish case. As has been commented in the context of the Fraser case, it seems odd that the SNP seem to dislike a court sitting in London comprising 40% Scottish judges, but welcome the European Court, where there is one British judge!

 

That case is due to be heard in London early next month. Many observers believe the companies have little hope on Human Rights grounds – the case hinges on their property rights – though stranger things have happened.

As already mentioned, and indeed as had been reported in the Scotsman, the appeal was heard previously and the judgment will be issued on 12^th October. Having watched much of the case it is fair to say that the performance of counsel for the Scottish Government was unimpressive, leading to online discussion (not seriously I should add) as to whether or not counsel had been instructed to ”take a dive” so as to lose the case, allowing the SNP to complain that their laws were being overturned by a “foreign” court. Sad to say, Ms McAlpine’s article would actually lend weight to that frivolous theory! And again the snide reference to the case being heard in London – one can hear the sneer in our Parliamentarian’s voice!

After the invective directed at the insurers by Ms McAlpine for arguing about human rights, it is of note that she acknowledges that, in fact, the “property rights” case is observed to be the stronger leg of the insurers’ submissions.

 

But there are even greater issues at stake if the asbestos ruling goes the wrong way. If the insurance companies win, you will effectively see a London court overturn an Act of the Scots Parliament that has with widespread support from other political parties, the trades unions and churches. The immorality and injustice of this would not be lost on the people of Scotland, particularly as it would be impossible for the Supreme Court to similarly dismiss Acts of the Westminster parliament, which is regarded as a sovereign, law-making body in the way Holyrood is not.

Once more we have a disparaging reference to London, ignoring the fact that the UKSC is, as the name hints, the Supreme Court for the United Kingdom! As already mentioned, if Holyrood has exceeded its competence, then it does not matter how “popular” the legislation is – it is ultra vires and cannot stand. For my part, I agree with the judges in the Court of Session regarding this issue, but there is an issue on the retrospective application of the Act which flies against commonly recognised legal principles.

Ms McAlpine’s complaint is that the UKSC cannot strike down a Westminster Act. Of course, under the present constitutional arrangements, like it or not, the Scottish Parliament is a creature of Westminster legislation. The powers of Holyrood derive from the Scotland Act, and Westminster can, short of Mr Salmond making a unilateral declaration of independence, increase or decrease those powers. That is what the present debate on the Scotland Bill is about.

It might be thought indeed that it is the Westminster position which is anomalous. After all, the US Supreme Court can strike down legislation as can the Supreme Courts in many jurisdictions. The courts can, and should, act as a bulwark against unconstitutional and unfair legislation.

 

This exposes the sham of the current constitutional arrangements. Scots, increasingly, are proud of their parliament, expect it to protect them and want it to have far greater powers. It is sovereign in the eyes of the people because they are sovereign and it is they who elect it.

Ms McAlpine refers to the present arrangements as a “sham”. My trusty dictionary defines a “sham” as a “piece of pretence; something pretending or pretended to be what it is not”. The present arrangement is what it is – it is not what Ms McAlpine wants it to be. That does not make it a “sham”. And if and when the SNP get round to having their much promised referendum, we will find out what the Scottish people want, rather than having Ms McAlpine declare what that is.

 

Even if the damages legislation is not found to be in contravention of human rights law, the court may still grasp the opportunity to extend its authority over Scotland’s parliament. The 1998 Scotland Act says Holyrood laws can only be challenged if they intrude on reserved issues, breach European law or violate the ECHR. The insurers are also asking for a ruling that there is a right to appeal under common law as well – though the system is of course different in Scotland and England which complicates matters further. If the Supreme Court, in which only one of its current contingent of eleven judges is trained in and has detailed experience of Scots Law, said an act could also be reviewed on common law grounds, Holyrood’s status would be relegated to that of local council. It would open the floodgates and any law could be challenged on just about any grounds. Such a ruling would be a sort of ritual humiliation, but would we put up with it?

It is, I am sure, a political decision by the SNP to characterise the UKSC as an arm of Westminster, sitting in its “London” lair, striving to take control of Scotland’s affairs. The court has to deal with the issues put before it. Lord Hope did not ring up AXA Insurance to tell them “Between us, here is what I want you to argue before the court”. As their Lordships mentioned in the judgments referred to in the Court of Session, these issues are very difficult for the court to determine. One could easily see circumstances where a Scottish Government, of whatever hue, sought to pass a law which was abhorrent to the SNP, and where the Nationalists would be delighted for the UKSC to come to Scotland’s aid. But politically it suits for the judges to be disparaged.

As Lord Emslie said in his ruling “But if, hypothetically, a Scottish parliament were ever to legislate in a manner which could be described as a flagrant and unconstitutional abuse of power (it would be) unthinkable that the courts should have no option but to hold themselves powerless to intervene”.

It is true that there is only one Scottish judge out of 11 just now. That is because Lord Rodger sadly died and for each Scottish case heard since his death, including in fact this one, one of the judges from the Court of Session has sat along with Lord Hope to make up the second Scottish judge.

Ms McAlpine is right that any law could be challenged on any ground. But the courts would kick out frivolous or nonsensical arguments, whilst applying full and rigorous analysis to serious cases. If the UKSC rules against the legislation, this would not be a “ritual humiliation” but a decision that the Parliament has gone wrong. We have had devolution since 1999. How many Acts have been declared invalid since then? If Ms McAlpine’s thesis is to be accepted, then this would have been a common event, even if only since the SNP took over in 2005. It has not happened. The decision in the AXA case will not leave Holyrood left akin to a “parish council”.

 

Alex Salmond v Lord Hope...or is it AXA Insurance v Scotland...

This is a David and Goliath clash, whatever angle you view it from. It should not be a party political matter. Kenny MacAskill, the justice minister has said the Asbestos Damages Act was the piece of legislation he was most proud of in the SNP’s first term in office. It had support right across the Labour movement and from industrial injuries lawyers such as the late Frank McGuire whose contribution fighting for justice was marked in a motion by Labour’s Johanne Lamont just this week.

It is interesting that a battle between on one hand insurance companies, and on the other, the Scottish Government is classed as a “David v Goliath” affair. I suspect that Ms McAlpine wishes to classify the UKSC as Goliath, and the plucky SNP as David. In either event, this is a gross distortion.

As mentioned above there is an argument about the payment of compensation to people “suffering” from a symptom free condition. If this was a situation where the law was created to allow payment of compensation for asbestosis or mesothelioma, that would be entirely different. But that is not what this Act is about. It relates to pleural plaques.

Ironically, the Surpreme (sic) Court challenge also comes at the same time as the 40th anniversary of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work in, which was commemorated in the parliament last week. UCS played a considerable role in boosting the campaign for Scottish Home Rule that gained momentum from the early 1970s.

Here we come to the nub – this, in the same way as UCS in the 1970’s, is being used by SNP politicians paying little or no attention to the legalities and realities of the argument, in a Scotland – good; London – bad argument. As I said at the start, this would be bad enough from a journalist, but far worse when coming from a Parliamentarian.

The remarkbale and greatly missed Jimmy Reid and the UCS workers

 

It was believed a parliament in Scotland would protect shipbuilding and the men who worked in the yards. Four decades later, it is appropriate that the casualties of that industry should be central to a battle over where power should lie.

The “casualties” referred to are not suffering. The issue is whether the Scottish Parliament went beyond the rules which govern its competence. The UKSC Justices will declare their decision on this on Wednesday.

It would be interesting to see what Ms McAlpine’s reaction would be to an order from the European Court that an Act of the Scottish Parliament was invalid – how would that square with her declarations of the people’s sovereignty?

 

Conclusion

For the avoidance of doubt, as lawyers are prone to say, I am happy that the Scottish Government legislated to make compensation payable to pleural plaque sufferers, as people with that condition had been so entitled for 20 years prior to Rothwell.

I have always been on the side of the “wee man” against the “big business”. But that is not the issue here.

We have a prominent politician and writer disregarding the facts for political purposes. I do not suggest that Ms McAlpine has written her piece having decided to ignore the truth which she knows. Instead she has written it, I can only assume, without having ascertained the full position.

It just goes to show that the standard of writing and comment on legal matters in Scotland, whether by press of politicians, is woeful, and I fully expect that the decision on Wednesday will do nothing to change that view.

 

 

 

Cadder II – The Sequel – PF Glasgow v Akram – Article 6 Revisited

 

Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate

 

The Cadder case (Cadder v HMA [2010] UKSC 43) created havoc last year when the United Kingdom Supreme Court (UKSC) declared that the long standing practice of the Scottish police of detaining suspects and questioning them without the accused having had the benefit of legal advice under s 14 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 breached the rights of the accused to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This meant that where a suspect had been detained by the police and questioned without access to legal advice, then in the absence of any waiver by the accused, any matters mentioned in the interview would not be admissible against him in a trial.

The Scottish Parliament passed emergency legislation – the Criminal Procedure (Legal Assistance, Detention and Appeals) (Scotland) Act. This Act was designed to close the loophole identified by the UKSC, which in turn arose from the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Salduz v Turkey (2009) 49 EHRR 19. The case also prompted significant criticism by the SNP administration of the UKSC’s “interference” in Scottish criminal law.

Fears that the Appeal Court in Edinburgh would be swamped by huge numbers of appeals, and that numerous cases would have to be dropped have proved to be exaggerated, but it is clear that the decision in Cadder has had an enormous effect upon the criminal justice system in Scotland.

The new system put in place has been bedding in, and the UKSC has a representative sample of cases with decisions pending to clarify the effect of the Cadder decisions in cases prior to the new legislation.

All seemed to be calm, at least relatively.

 

PF Glasgow v Akram

 

However, on 1^st September 2011, Sheriff Sean Murphy QC (who also sits as a temporary High Court judge) put the “Cadder” among the pigeons again.

His decision was issued in the case of PF Glasgow v Akram which is at this point unreported, but can be found here  Sheriff Murphy’s decision applies the Cadder principles to a much larger variety of cases than Cadder itself, and has potential implications across the UK.

Mrs Akram was charged on summary complaint with two counts under Section 111(1A) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, as amended, by knowingly failing to give prompt notification in the prescribed manner to the relevant authorities of changes in her circumstances as a result of which she was said to have obtained income support and housing benefit to which she was not entitled.

Her solicitors lodged a Devolution Minute arguing that her right to a fair trial, under Article 6 of the ECHR, had been denied because the prosecution proceeded on the basis of certain replies, contrary to her interests, which were made by her in an interview which took place without her having the benefit of legal assistance.

Mrs Akram had not been detained under s14. Instead she had been interviewed by one officer of the Department for Work and Pensions and one from Glasgow City Council at the same time. She had attended the interview, which was in connection with alleged fraudulent activity on her part, on a voluntary basis, and it was accepted that she had been told that she was free to leave at any time. The compulsion element under s14 was therefore not present in respect of this matter.

She was advised that she could have legal advice but it was noted that she had not sought this prior to the interview, nor had she asked to leave the interview to obtain it.

 

Submissions to the Court

 

Mr McLaughlin, solicitor for Mrs Akram, referred to the cases of Salduz, Panovits v Cyprus and Cadder. He drew the principle that the suspect had the right to access to legal advice from the first stages of interrogation by the police in order to ensure that his/her right against self-incrimination was meaningful.  He argued that the Interview of someone suspected of fraudulent activity by a non-police agency fell to be treated in the same way.  There were no reported cases at present on the question of the Cadder principle as applied to such non-police agencies.

The case of Jude, Hodgson & Birnie v HMA [2011] Scot HC HCJAC 46 was relevant in connection with the question of waiver of the right to legal advice, it was submitted. The court had accepted that the Cadder rights to legal advice could be waived, but as per the Jude etc case there was no valid waiver for two reasons “namely (i) because the law at the time did not allow the accused to have access to a lawyer at that stage of pre-trial procedure; and (ii) because the appellant’s consent to be interviewed in each case was not informed by legal advice.” Whilst Mrs Akram was allowed access to a lawyer, she had not had her consent to be interviewed informed by legal advice.

Mr McLaughlin argued that Mrs Akram had not been acting with the benefit of legal advice which she ought to have been given.  Her interview therefore was inadmissible.  There had been no voluntary, knowing and intelligent relinquishment of her right, which had to be established in an unequivocal manner, with minimum guarantees commensurate to its importance.  The principle set out in Jude etc applied to all cases.  There should be consistency rather than one rule for interviews conducted by the police and another for interviews conducted by other agencies.

The procurator fiscal depute sought to distinguish all the authorities cited for Mrs Akram. They all related, she said, to police interviews. Police interviews had a compulsion element absent in non-police agency interviews. The two were not comparable. In any event, Mrs Akram was not a vulnerable person, being an adult who had had the right to legal advice made clear to her. She had chosen, under no pressure, not to seek legal advice and therefore she had waived any Article 6 rights in this regard.

 

Sheriff Murphy’s Determination – Does the Cadder Principle Apply to Non-Police Agency Interviews?

 

Sheriff Murphy proceeded to deal with the two issues in the case. First of all, did the Cadder principle apply to non-police agency interviews and secondly, had there been a valid waiver of her rights by Mrs Akram?

The first point seems to be the principle with potentially wide applications, although, as we shall see, these might be mitigated significantly by virtue of the decision on the second part.

Dealing with the Cadder point, Sheriff Murphy stated that the “ratio of the decisions in the cases of Salduz v Turkey and Cadder v HMA is that a suspect’s right against self-incrimination would be compromised if he were denied access to legal advice before being questioned by the authorities in the form of the police.” He indicated that this was clearly indicated in Salduz and in the speeches by Lords Rodger and Hope in the Cadder case.

He went on to say “The principle itself is so clearly recognised in these passages that I can see no reason to distinguish between the police and any other agency which is questioning a person suspected of committing some type of crime.  In this context it is significant that the procurator fiscal depute in her submissions to me used the phrase “reporting agency” because that reflects the fact that the agencies involved in this case were used to reporting matters which they had investigated to the office of the procurator fiscal so that prosecutions might be undertaken.  Accordingly their enquiries must be seen as sharing some of the features of a police investigation and the right against self-incrimination must be as important in relation to any interview conducted by such an agency, where the contents of the interview are likely to be used in evidence, as it would be in the context of police questioning.  I can see no reason why the general principle should be restricted to police questioning after detention, as the respondent urges.  The principle must be applied equally to all enquiries which are likely to lead to criminal proceedings.” (Emphases added.)

The learned Sheriff did not go quite as far as to say that this was now trite law, but his analysis makes clear that the Cadder protection must apply in these matters. Where the agency involved can effectively bypass the police in reporting a matter to the Procurator Fiscal, then such an interview must be treated as if a police interview. One can self-incriminate in such a non-police agency interview as much as one can in a police interview, and in either case the prosecution would seek to use admissions made by the accused in such interviews in court. Logically therefore, the Sheriff viewed that the absence of compulsion was not the relevant factor here, but the purpose of the interview and the use to which admissions made therein might be put.

There are a large number of agencies which can be described as “reporting agencies” as used by the fiscal depute and the Sheriff. The wider issue is that these agencies are UK wide. Whereas s14 detention, as formerly applied, was only the law in Scotland, the issue of non-police “reporting agencies” conducting voluntary interviews under caution is a national one. Whilst the mechanism by which the ECHR is applied differs between Scotland and England (in Scotland under the Scotland Act and in England under the Human Rights Act) Article 6 protections apply across the board. It would therefore appear that the issue raised would be applicable across the border.

Of course the requirement for corroboration in Scotland, which is not replicated in England, makes this even more important in the latter jurisdiction. In Scotland, one cannot generally be convicted solely on one’s own admissions. In England, without that requirement for corroboration, admissions under caution could be enough, on their own, to result in a conviction.

With the UKSC having determined this principle, it would not be a surprise to see the specific issue addressed by Sheriff Murphy in this case being refereed to the UKSC for an authoritative determination.

Indeed it has already been suggested that, due to the cross border implications, the Advocate General for Scotland will seek to refer the matter to the UKSC.

Sheriff Murphy’s Determination – What is the Position Regarding Waiver?

 

Sheriff Murphy then spends longer dealing with the principle of waiver than with the basic Cadder rule. He quoted Lord Rodger in Cadder as saying:-

“It is, indeed, quite common for those who have been arrested to decide to make a voluntary statement to the police and not to exercise their right to obtain legal advice before doing so. See, for instance, the famous example in Manuel v HM Advocate 1958 JC 41. Similarly, if a suspect had a right to legal advice before being questioned, but declined to exercise it, a court might have to consider whether, having regard to all the circumstances, he had effectively waived his relevant article 6 Convention right so that no violation would arise.”(Emphasis added)

The learned Sheriff noted that it had repeatedly been made clear to Mrs Akram that she was entitled to have legal advice, both in the letter inviting her to attend at the interview, and during it as it proceeded. He said “I further consider that these excerpts show that she clearly and obviously declined to seek such advice at a time when it was open to her to do so, apparently at an early stage in the interview”.

He considered that it was clear that Mrs Akram had waived her right to legal advice.

The thornier question was whether this was “an informed decision, freely taken?”

Sheriff Murphy considered the case of Pishchalnikov v. Russia – 7025/04 [2009] ECHR 1357 (24 September 2009) where the court had determined that a suspect had the right to waive his rights in connection with access to legal advice. He quoted paragraph 78 of the decision which states:-

“However, the Court strongly indicates that additional safeguards are necessary when the accused asks for counsel because if an accused has no lawyer, he has less chance of being informed of his rights and, as a consequence, there is less chance that they will be respected.” (Emphasis added by Sheriff Murphy)

In the present case Mrs Akram had specifically declined legal advice. This meant that the Pishchalnikov case fell to be distinguished as here the suspect had repeatedly asked for a lawyer, but been refused, prior to making a confession.

The Sheriff then considered the “circular” argument proposed by Mr McLaughlin for Mrs Akram to the effect that, in the absence of legal advice, a suspect could not make a valid waiver of their rights, as they did not know and understand what those rights were.

Here he considered the Jude case referred to above.  He noted that that case was decided based on the rules in place prior to the Cadder decision and the 201 Act being passed. At the time there was no right recognised to have legal advice prior to an interview by the police, so accordingly the police did not advise suspects of what ultimately, as per the UKSC in Cadder, turned out to be the correct position, namely that there was such a right.

In such a case there could only be an implied waiver, as no one could expressly waive a right not known to them.

He went on to say:-

“The situation in the cases of Jude & Ors is rather different from Mrs Parveen Akram’s position.  She was expressly advised of her right to seek legal advice and she chose not to exercise it.  She was expressly advised that the interview would be suspended on her indicating that she wished to seek legal advice but she declined to do so.  That was an informed decision on her part because she was plainly aware of the existence of the right and she did not seek to exercise it.  I therefore consider that she must be held to have waived her right to seek legal advice prior to and during the interview of 9 December 2008.” (Emphases added)

He then decided that (a) the Cadder rights were applicable, but that (b) Mrs Akram had waived them and therefore her alleged admissions were admissible and the case should proceed.

We now wait to see if this case will be appealed to the High Court.

 

Implications

 

Where does this take us?

Firstly, I imagine that, whether with this prosecution or another, there will be a case determined by the Appeal Court in Scotland or indeed the UKSC in an effort to determine this point. Are non-police agencies bound by Cadder rules? On the basis of Sheriff Murphy’s analysis, which of course is persuasive, but not binding, there is little doubt that such rules do apply. Agencies such as the Department of Work and Pensions, local authorities in connection with various functions, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs and many more would fall within that description. All sorts of cases, such as those relating to breaches of the benefit rules, tax evasion, environmental heath infractions, planning offences and violations of the rules of Company law or Bankruptcy, where the investigations are carried out not by police, but by a “reporting agency” would appear to be covered. On that basis, and therefore across the UK, will there turn out to be many cases where prosecutions need to be dropped or convictions quashed? I must for now leave that question open.

 

Secondly, what are the implications for Legal Aid, both in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK? Under the new post-Cadder legislation in Scotland the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) set up a much criticised scheme for providing people who are detained for questioning by the police to receive free legal advice from a police station duty solicitor, being an extension of the existing Duty Solicitor scheme. A spokesman for SLAB is quoted by the Herald as saying that assistance was available to those questioned by outside agencies but would be considered on an individual basis. After all the disputes between the solicitors who practise criminal law in Scotland and SLAB over the new police station duty advice, I am sure the last thing SLAB want is to have to extend this in some way to cover interviews with other agencies. For one thing, SLAB’s budget is sorely pressed just now, they tell us, and a new layer of “Duty Solicitor” activity would result in resources being taken from elsewhere in their budget. But following Sheriff Murphy’s principle, if a police interview and that with a non-police “reporting agency” are so similar as to require Cadder protection in each case to render them ECHR compliant, can the Scottish Government justify not extending the free “Duty” legal advice to “reporting agency” interviews?

As the arrangements for Legal Aid in England are not something of which I have much, if indeed any, knowledge, I leave to wiser people than me if there would be Legal Aid implications outwith the Scottish jurisdiction.

 

Thirdly, is the waiver decision reached by Sheriff Murphy a “get out of jail free” card for the prosecution, reducing the impact of the Cadder principle in practice?

The situation where there is police detention involves the suspect, often without any warning, being apprehended. There is no opportunity to take legal advice prior to interview and a suspect cannot opt to leave the police station to seek such advice. The new post-Cadder regime in Scotland allows the suspect to seek and obtain such advice, even if over the telephone, prior to interview unless the right is waived.

However in most “reporting agency” cases, the suspect would attend, as did Mrs Akram, on a voluntary basis. The practice of the DWP, as I understand it, when investigating an allegation of a fraudulent benefit claim is, at the appropriate moment in the inquiry, to invite the suspect to attend. The letter doing so makes clear that the suspect has the right to seek legal advice prior to the interview. As was seen in the Akram case, the interviewing officers made it clear to Mrs Akram that she was there voluntarily and that she could call a halt to the interview at any time if she wished, including if she decided as matters progressed, to obtain legal advice.

Is it likely therefore that, in many of these “reporting agency” cases the court would determine that, even if the Cadder principle applied, there was in fact a waiver of the suspect’s rights if they choose not to see a lawyer? It would seem at first sight that that would be the position.

Each case, in theory, would have to be dealt with on its individual merits and therefore it is possible that, as in Mrs Akram’s case, the suspect is deemed to be sufficiently “informed” to waive their rights, whilst with other suspects, perhaps due to their age, level of education, or mental capability are not determined to have the capacity to reach an informed decision?

One way, of course, to prevent such issues arising would be for some “Duty Advice Solicitor” scheme to be set up for these cases, where the decision not top take advice would be made against a clear backdrop of information about the suspect’s rights, but even then, we can, in certain cases, come back to the “circular” argument of how can a person be informed in their decision to waive their right to legal advice when they have not had legal advice as to the effects of not having legal advice!

 

Conclusion

 

As with many cases which cause the accepted position to be questioned, it is easy to make dire predictions of the disasters to befall the justice system as a result. In most cases, once the implications are fully assessed, it turns out that the feared effects are diluted.

It is, as Premier Zhou Enlai of China is reputed to have said about the effects of the 1789 French Revolution, “too early to tell” if the Akram case will be as disruptive to the system as was Cadder, if not more so.

What it does show is that the Scottish courts are vigilant in their responsibility of ensuring that the Scottish system becomes ECHR compliant, and it is striking in how many ways, both large and small, it has been found wanting over the years.

Hopefully the Carloway Review, presently ongoing, might hopefully see a way to bringing the criminal justice system in Scotland to a position where there is full ECHR compliance and where the press will no longer take the chance of decisions such as this to complain about “Europe” interfering with our law.

 

 

 

 

 

Dear (Glasgow) Herald – Bring Back Bruce McKain!

For many years the Herald, or Glasgow Herald as we traditionalists would prefer it still to be, produced excellent coverage of legal issues. Bruce McKain’s by-line on an article was usually a guarantee that there would be good understanding of the issues, and exposition making it clear to the layperson what the issues were.

Even in his court reports, which are normally simply edited highlights of the day’s evidence, his knowledge and experience of the court process meant that the Herald avoided errors other news outlets fell into.

However, in around 2003, Bruce McKain left the Herald and journeyed to the East. He took on the role of Director of Public Affairs at the Faculty of Advocates. The Faculty’s gain was very much the press’ loss. It is probably too much, especially in these days where newspapers have ever-increasing pressure on their margins, and redundancies in the industry are commonplace, to expect that Scotland’s leading quality paper will have a legal correspondent able to replicate what Bruce McKain did, but at least one would hope that there would be a basic understanding of legal matters when journalists report on them.

These thoughts were prompted by an “exclusive” piece in the Herald on 15th August 2011. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/tobacco-display-appeal-could-spark-fresh-supreme-court-row-1.1117551

Kate Devlin, the Herald’s UK political Correspondent, wrote a piece headed “Tobacco display appeal could spark fresh Supreme Court row”.

She states that “The Scottish Government could face another showdown with the Supreme Court, this time over controversial plans to ban the display of cigarettes in shops.”

The piece refers to the legal challenge by Imperial Tobacco to the Tobacco & Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 passed by the Scottish Parliament. Imperial Tobacco are challenging this through the courts, claiming that Holyrood did not have the power to pass such a law.

The case being pursued by them has not yet been determined by the Inner House of the Court of Session, on appeal from the original decision by Lord Bracadale, to uphold the new law. http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2010CSOH134.html

The article states that Imperial Tobacco has indicated that it could take the case to the UK Supreme Court, if the Inner House finds against it, and this, according to the writer “..would put the court and the Government on another collision course. Scottish ministers have already denounced the court’s judges for a series of decisions they claim have run roughshod over Scots law. The dispute escalated when the court overturned the murder conviction of Nat Fraser on human-rights grounds earlier this year.”

This is wrong on so many levels, and clearly will be of no help to the layperson in seeing the rights and wrongs of the issue.

First of all, the UK Supreme Court is a court, to which all parties, subject to the relevant rues, have access. If Imperial Tobacco lose in Edinburgh, they have the right to seek to appeal further to the UKSC. Prior to the creation of the UKSC, they could have appealed to the House of Lords. It is Imperial Tobacco who are challenging the Scottish Ministers, not the UKSC.

Secondly, this is a civil rather than a criminal matter. The majority of the criticism directed at Lord Hope and the other UKSC related to the Nat Fraser case where the UKSC “interfered”, according to Mr Salmond and others, with the long standing rule that the High Court of Justiciary was the ultimate appeal court in Scottish criminal law.

But, in civil matters, there is no such concern. In future the Scottish Ministers might seek to restrict or eliminate such a right of appeal, but for now no-one disputes that it is perfectly competent to take an appeal to London from Edinburgh in a civil case.

Thirdly, there is no “collision course”. The UKSC is a court. One could equally say that, if the Inner House finds in favour of Imperial Tobacco, it has placed itself on a “collision course” with Mr Salmond’s Executive.In the event that the Inner House was to find in favour of Imperial Tobacco, I am fairly certain that the case would be appealed by the Scottish Executive to the UKSC!

The only way in wich a “collision course” appears is if, in some way, it is seen to be wrong for a court to find against the Scottish Ministers. I cannot imagine that Mr Salmond and his Ministers believe that it is wrong for a court to find against them! If that is their view, then it would be helpful if that were to be made clear.

As I said, I cannot imagine such a piece appearing if Mr McKain was still at the Herald. I am sure that Kate Devlin is an excellent political correspondent, but her grasp, at least in terms of this article, of  legal issues is sadly lacking.

Finally one wonders why the piece appeared now. The Inner House appeal has yet to take place. There is a long way till any appeal to the UKSC is marked. An appeal hearing in London is even further away.

To whose benefit is an exclusive article indicating that the Scottish Executive is continuing its fight against the “foreign” UKSC and its “interference” in the law of Scotland? Sadly, as I have no expertise in politics, I cannot answer that question!

Tommy Sheridan and the “McNeilage Tape”

One of the issues noticed by legal observers of the trial of Tommy Sheridan for perjury in connection with his successful defamation against the News of the World (NotW) was what Sherlock Holmes would have called “the dogs that didn’t bark”.

These “dogs” were expert reports analysing the so-called “McNeilage Tape”.

 

George McNeilage

George McNeilage had known Tommy Sheridan since their school days. He was a political colleague and had been best man at Mr Sheridan’s wedding.

However, according to Mr McNeilage in court, he had become sickened by Mr Sheridan’s public denials and diametrically opposed private admissions regarding his personal foibles, and decided to obtain proof of this.

According to Mr McNeilage, he engineered a meeting with Mr Sheridan in the presence of a hidden video camera. The video-tape which Mr McNeilage obtained, he said, as a result of this meeting, was one of many dramatic factors in the case. The Daily Record  referred to the tape as being a “sensation” when it was first introduced into the trial.

Mr McNeilage told the court he had sat tight with the tape, only showing it to one other person, until after Mr Sheridan’s success in his defamation case, and his award of £200,000 damages by the Edinburgh jury.

He felt, he told the court, “physically sick” after the verdict, and even worse after the Daily Record published a front page article based apparently on comments by Mr Sheridan where he referred to certain of his former Scottish Socialist Party colleagues as “scabs”.

 

Did Mr McNeilage Do Anything Legally Wrong By Selling the Videotape to the NotW?

All this culminated in him contacting the NotW and after various negotiations, which included the Scottish editor of the NotW stripping to his underwear to view the video, to ensure that he was not “wired”, Mr McNeilage handed this evidence over to the NotW in return for a payment of £200,000.

Of course, at the stage when he did so, Mr Sheridan had been successful in his case, and this had been appealed by the NotW. Whilst the judge at the original trial had indicated that he thought that certain witnesses should be investigated as regards possible perjury, Mr Sheridan did not seem, at that stage, to be actively under inquiry.

There was therefore nothing legally wrong with Mr McNeilage contacting the NotW to sell them the tape. It was not, for example, interference with evidence in a criminal investigation, despite various comments to that effect which have been made.

 

What Did Mr Sheridan Say in Court about the Videotape?

As mentioned in the Daily Record piece above, the tape had recorded a voice which seemed to be that of Mr Sheridan, and there was a fleeting glimpse of a person who might have been him.

As it transpired, in court both prosecution and defence called various witnesses who were asked if they thought the voice on the tape making the damaging admissions was that of Mr Sheridan. The Crown witnesses thought that it was, whilst the defence witnesses thought that it was not. All witnesses, with differing degrees of certainty, gave their opinions about whether the voice was Mr Sheridan’s or not.

Here, legally, matters are complicated by Mr Sheridan’s decision at an early stage to dispense with his QC and to represent himself. Whilst he exercised his right not to go in to the witness box, it is clear that, deliberately or not, Mr Sheridan took the opportunity of examining, cross-examining and re-examining witnesses to, effectively, give his own evidence, without fear of the prosecutor asking him questions.

At different times Mr Sheridan suggested; that a mimic had been employed to impersonate his voice (but his efforts to have Des McLean, a mimic noted for his impressions of Mr Sheridan, admitted as a witness were fruitless);  or that the tape might have been created from “bugged” conversations or phone messages.

Prosecution witnesses, including Mr McNeilage, who were asked about the tape had no doubts of its authenticity.

 

When Do the Non-Barking Dogs Make Their Appearance?

I will preface my remarks by saying that my speculations are not based on any direct knowledge of these matters but from what I hope is an “educated” guess as to what was happening, and also that no criticism of Mr Sheridan’s legal advisers is intended nor is any implied.

In a High Court case of this nature where there is physical evidence, like a video tape, both parties need determine if the evidence is genuine and whether or not the other party will seek to challenge this.

Scottish procedure requires that the Crown carry out full disclosure of their case to the defence, and in sufficient time prior to trial. The High Court will fix a Preliminary Hearing, and there can be a number of these in any one case, for the judge to ascertain how prepared all parties are for trial.

The Crown must disclose a list of witnesses whom it may call (if a witness is not listed then it is very difficult to have them called to give evidence) and a list of productions and “labels” being the documents and physical evidence in the case.

Therefore the defence would have had knowledge of the McNeilage Tape. This would have been discussed with Mr Sheridan by his QC and instructions given by him as to what was to be done about it.

Where, as must have been the case, Mr Sheridan disputed the tape’s authenticity, it is very hard to see that arrangements would not have been made for the video tape to be analysed, especially as, at the trial, Mr Sheridan drew attention to various “edits” in the recording. These, he suggested, might have been to get rid of any “mistakes” in the bogus confession recorded.

 

So, Were There Expert Reports or Not, and Why Did the Jury not See Them?

Now, whilst CSI and similar programmes have led us to believe that, from one fibre of material, the full events of a crime can be re-constructed, there is great technical expertise able to determine (a) if a recording is a true recording, or if it is made by “sampling” and (b) whether the voice or voices on the tape are likely to belong to a named individual.

So, in these circumstances, and despite hearing from many witnesses, did the court not hear from any experts?

There have been various theories expounded regarding this, one being that the Crown deliberately left their own expert off the list so as to allow them to question Mr Sheridan’s expert, whilst not leaving their expert open to attack.

That, whilst attractive to the “conspiracy” theorists, does not seem credible to me.

As far as I can surmise, and I quite accept I may be entirely wrong, the situation would have been as follows.

The Crown, in all likelihood, would have had the tape examined by an expert to see if it was genuine or if it appeared to be made of “off cuts”. In addition, the voice of the purported “Mr Sheridan” would have been analysed to see if an opinion could be given to the court about this.

 

A Short Digression on Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses are lucky, in that they are the only witnesses who are properly able to tell the court their opinion, rather than simply giving factual evidence. Lay people often seem confused by the fact that two eminent experts can go into court, and give diametrically opposed opinions. I would never suggest that expert witnesses tailor their opinion to suit the side instructing them. That would be a gross dereliction of their duty to the court. The skill (or luck) lies in finding a suitably qualified whose evidence supports one’s thesis. I could, if I was an expert witness on football, for example, tell the court that it was my firmly held opinion that, in four years time, Albion Rovers would win the European Cup. Any number of pundits could explain how crack-pot that theory was, but no-one could prove that it was not my honestly held opinion (I don’t think Albion Rovers will win the European Cup in four years, by the way – give them six!)

As long as I have something, in that example to justify what I say, then I can give evidence, as an expert, which completely contradicts the opposing expert. It is for the judge or jury then to determine which expert’s evidence can be relied upon.

 

Enter, Stage Left, Peter Cadder

If the Crown expert said (a) that the tape was created from various different snatches of conversation and “knitted” together, or if the Crown expert determined that was not clear if the voice on the tape was that of Mr Sheridan, then the tape would not have been produced or mentioned in court. It would be a matter of grave concern if something like that had happened. In addition, under the rules of disclosure, such evidence would require to be made available to the defence, and if, notwithstanding the expert report or reports, the Crown had sought to introduce it, then the defence would have been easily able to discredit it.

It therefore would appear that the prosecution must have had favourable reports on these matters. Why would they not have introduced them in evidence?

Here we need to thank Mr Cadder.

Peter Cadder was convicted in 2009 of certain offences committed in 2007. However, he had ben interviewed by police without having had legal advice, and he challenged this as breaching his right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Supreme Court in October 2010 ruled that statements obtained by the police in such circumstances were inadmissible.

How does this bear upon Mr Sheridan? The expert who analysed the tape for the prosecution would have needed a sample of Mr Sheridan’s voice for comparison purposes. Whilst Mr Sheridan has been a man very often heard on the radio and seen on television, to avoid evidential problems, the source material for such a comparison would normally be the accused’s police interview. However, in terms of the Cadder ruling, the evidence of Mr Sheridan’s taped interview with the police was inadmissible.

Now, as mentioned above, Mr Sheridan’s team must have obtained their own report or reports regarding these matters. If the defence experts agreed with the prosecution, then clearly they would not have been put before the court. It is not the job of the defence to assist the prosecution, but equally, if the defence position was that the voice, for example, was not that of Mr Sheridan, then normally expert evidence would be needed to make that case convincing (although the defence have no obligation to convince the jury of anything).

If Mr Sheridan had had favourable expert testimony, he could have agreed for this to be led. Even though the police interview with him was inadmissible as Crown evidence, the accused can have it introduced into evidence himself.

This then opens it up to the prosecution to refer to it. The genie is out of the lamp at that stage.

 

So, What Happened?

There are therefore, I think, two possibilities more likely than any others. Either the defence experts had little or no doubt about the provenance of the videotape, in which case leading their evidence would only bolster the prosecution, and in which case there would have been no incentive for the defence to permit the taped interview to be played or notwithstanding whatever the defence experts might have said, the tape contained admissions by Mr Sheridan which were damaging to his defence.

There were a number of prosecutions affected by the Cadder decision, being cases where police interviews with admissions by the accused had taken place prior to the Supreme Court decision, and in many the cases were dropped. The Crown felt that they had enough evidence (as it turned out they had) to convict Mr Sheridan without expert testimony regarding the video-tape.

I imagine that, at one of the Preliminary Hearings, the court had dealt with the question of admissibility of the videotape, and that the Court, as is normal in thees circumstances, had imposed reporting restrictions. During the course of the case there were at least four separate orders made by the court under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 restricting or prohibiting reporting.  http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/current/court_announcements.aspUnlike Perry Mason, Petrocelli and the rest of the American lawyers whose fictional cases appeared on TV, it is not permitted, except in the most extreme circumstances, for a High Court case to be de-railed by a “last-minute” surprise witness. Therefore, if the court had ruled out the Crown expert reports as inadmissible, the defence would not have been allowed to try to “sneak in” their own expert. If they had, thus waiving the right to object to the police interview being admissible, the judge would have allowed the Crown experts to testify. In all likelihood however, he would have refused to allow the defence expert evidence before the court unless the expert was on the defence witness list and it had been made clear he might be called.

The likelihood therefore that there were expert reports, but that these were not for playing before the jury meant that all parties had to tread carefully. I recall a case some years ago (not one in which I was involved, but one which happened to be on in the court in which I was at the time) where an accused had been convicted of a serious assault. Despite the fact that he apparently had a number of previous convictions, these had not been libelled by the prosecution against him. This meant that the judge could not take the previous convictions into account in passing sentence. The defence lawyer, treading carefully, told the court that his client appeared “with no previous convictions libelled against him” which is different from saying that he had none, or that he was a first offender, both of which would have been untrue. I am sure the judge noted this formulation but as he did not have the convictions before him, he could do nothing about taking them into consideration.

Here too, in the Sheridan trial, both sides had to step carefully round the issues, and, from all I have read, they seemed to do so very well, although I suspect there might have been times when there was some legal argument about precise references to the video and whether or not it was genuine.

It has also been suggested that each side planned to seek to discredit the other’s expert on this point and so an accord was reached whereby neither side introduced expert testimony. I fail to see the sense in that. If I was a defence lawyer with an expert witness challenging a substantial part of the Crown case, I would want his evidence before the jury, even if the Crown had an expert to rubbish mine. It all goes towards showing there is a reasonable doubt regarding guilt.

If my expert did not really support my argument however and especially if introducing him would have permitted the jury to hear damning confessions from my client, then I would want the expert and his report as far from court as possible.

(Again, as an aside, I should say that the making of admissions at interview is not always conclusive, and there have been various cases where the court has decided that, for example, there has been “interrogation” of  witnesses, which is treated by the law as unfair and renders the content of the interview inadmissible against the accused.)

 

Conclusion

As the trial continued, message boards and blogs dealing with the case were filled with discussions. There was rampant speculation about the video-tape and the expert evidence to deal with it. The supporters and enemies of Mr Sheridan drew up their battle lines, each side trying to explain why, by that stage, the expert evidence had failed to appear.

As we know, it never did.

If Mr Sheridan is ultimately successful in his appeal (and as of now there is no live appeal) there remains the possibility of a re-trial. In such an event his advisers would again have to consider very carefully whether the expert evidence is worth leading.

In addition, the NotW stilll has its appeal against Mr Sheridan’s damages award to be determined. There is a possibility too that this case could result in a re-trial. As this is not a criminal case, it may well be that the concerns about admissability of the expert reports disappear and, as a result, the full tape of Mr Sheridan might be heard by the High Court jury.