Crown Courts
| Published date | 01 April 1975 |
| Date | 01 April 1975 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002201837503900203 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Crown Courts
Comments
on
Cases
CAUSING EXPLOSIONS
Rv.
Byrne
and Others
At
the
November
sessions
of
the
Crown
Court
in
Manchester
an
application
was
made
by
Christopher
Rose
Q.C. to
Crichton
J,
(the
High
Court
Judge
on
Circuit)
that
his client (Byrne) might be
released from
custody
on
the
grounds
that
nothing
had
been
done
to
bring
the
accused
to
trial
within
eight weeks
of
committal
as
required
by
law.
Byrne
had
been
committed
in April,
but
the
argument
applied even
more
to
the
others;
Ann
and
Eileen
Gillespie having
been
committed
early in
February
1974.
The
charge was conspiracy
to
cause an explosion,
but
not
even
the
indictment
appeared
to be
ready
as yet.
Mr. Mantell
for
the
Prosecution
said
that
preparations
were
incomplete
but
that
he
would
prefer
a bill
of
indictment.
Crichton
J.,
in view
of
the
committal
having
become
invalid
by
lapse
of
time, allowed
the
application
to succeed, saying
'It
is very
regrettable
that
they
have.
been
in
custody
for seven
months
waiting
for
trial.' However, in view
of
the
fact
that
re-arrests
would
take
place
at
the
doors
of
the
Court,
the
accused were
not
allowed
to
walk
out
of
the
dock
but
were again
sent
to
the
Justices
and
recharged.
The
trial
took
place
at
Manchester
before
Croom-J
ohnson
J.
at
the
beginning
of
1975,
and
took
twenty
days.
The
defendants
were
alleged
to
have
made
bombs
at
a
house
in
the
Withington
suburb
of
the
city
where
an
explosion
occurred.
The
sisters'
part
was said
to
be
the
planting
of
bombs
in
the
city
centre
several
of
which
caused damage. By
way
of
defence
they
stated
that
they
only
visited
the
house
to
seek garage space for a car. Cloughlan's finger-
print
was
on
an
unexploded
bomb,
and
Byrne
was
actually
at
the
house, using it as a
bomb
factory,
when
the
explosion
occurred.
Guilfoyle,
who
changed his plea
to
Guilty
during
the
hearing,
and
the
sisters,
on
being
found
Guilty,
received fifteen
years'
imprison-
ment
each:
Byrne
and
Cloughlan,
on
being
found
Guilty,
received
eighteen years
and
sixteen
years respectively.
CONSPIRACY TO ROB
R v. Scrutton, Alexander, Milne
and
Others
This
was a trial
before
Thesiger
J.
at
Manchester
Crown
Court
for
five weeks in
October
and
November
1974.
The
seven accused
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