Court of Criminal Appeal
| Published date | 01 January 1944 |
| Date | 01 January 1944 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002201834400800105 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Court of Criminal Appeal
NEWSPAPER
REPORT
OF
EVIDENCE
AT
PRELIMINARY
HEARING
AS
GROUND
FOR
AN
APPEAL
R. v. Dyson
THERE are few advantages from
the
accused's point
of view in allowing
the
press complete freedom to
publish an account of
the
preliminary hearing before
the
magistrates of a charge to be tried on indictment.
It
has often been pointed
out
that
the
jury
at
the
subsequent
trial
may
have
read reports in
the
newspapers
and
may
have
formed
an
opinion before
they
have
actually
heard
the
evidence.
For
example,
very
recently Professor
J.
L.
Brierly has
written
that"
there seems
to
be no good reason
why
this
preliminary examination should
not
be held
in
camera, as
it
is in Scotland" (Oxford Pamphlets on Home
Affairs:
English Law).
Interest
therefore attaches to
the
decision in R. v. Dyson (59
T.L.R.
314) where for
the
first
time
publication of evidence of previous convictions
given
at
the
preliminary hearing was held to be a good
reason for quashing
the
conviction
at
the
trial.
The
appellant appealed against conviction
at
Hudders-
field borough
quarter
sessions of larceny. No counsel
appeared on
the
appeal.
The
evidence against
the
appellant was
short
and
overwhelming. A shop assistant
saw him
take
away anumber of pairs of socks from
the
counter
and
put
them
under
his coat. She
and
another
assistant followed
and
overtook him in
the
street, when
it
was discovered
that
be
had
the
stolen goods.
The
appellant
set
up no defence
at
the
trial, did
not
give
evidence nor call witnesses. The point of law which he
took on
the
appeal was
that
when
the
matter
was before
the
justices on committal for
trial
aformidable list of his
previous convictions (some forty of them) was read to
the
justices and,
not
only so,
but
were published in
the
local
newspaper.
It
was held
by
the
Court of Criminal Appeal
(Lord Caldecote C.J., Asquith &Cassels
JJ.)
that
so
far
as reading
out
the
convictions in
court
was concerned,
38
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