HM Advocate v Walsh
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 20 August 1921 |
| Date | 20 August 1921 |
| Docket Number | No. 13. |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
Lord Justice Clerk.
Procedure—Trial—Insanity—One of a number of panels becoming insane during trial.
One of a number of persons, on trial together in the High Court on charges including that of murder, became insane in the course of the trial. Evidence of insanity having been led, the presiding Judge directed the jury to return a verdict of ‘not guilty’ in his case; discharged the jury so far as regarded his trial; and directed the trial of the remaining panels to proceed.
Evidence—Written evidence—Admissibility—Letter written in prison by accused awaiting trial retained by prison authorities—Comparatio literarum.
A letter written in prison by an accused awaiting his trial, which had been retained by the governor of the prison as being in contravention of the rules regulating the correspondence of prisoners, held admissible in evidence at the trial for the limited purpose of comparing the handwriting of the letter with other documents in the case.
Evidence—Written evidence—Admissibility—Trial of a number of persons for conspiracy and murder—Letter bearing to be written to one of the accused—Enclosed letters mentioning the names of two others of the accused—Letters not in handwriting of, nor found in possession of, any of accused.
In the course of the trial of thirteen persons, charged with conspiring to further the objects of an organisation known as Sinn Fein by the unlawful use of violence, and with murder, the Crown adduced as evidence a letter written to ‘A’ and two letters, which had apparently been enclosed in it, containing references to ‘B’ and ‘C.’ These letters had been found in the office of the Finance Minister of the Irish Republican Organisation. One of the panels was named A, another was named B, and another C. Objection to the admission of the letters as evidence was taken on the grounds that they were not recovered in the possession of any of the panels, and had not been shown to be in the writing of, or otherwise identified with, any of them.
The Court repelled the objection.
Daniel Patrick Walsh, alias Joseph Dunne, alias James Mitchell, and twelve other persons were charged on an indictment at the instance of His Majesty's Advocate with certain offences including, first, conspiring to further the objects of an organisation known as Sinn Fein by the unlawful use of force and violence; second, in furtherance of said conspiracy, conspiring to release a certain prisoner by murdering officers of police who were in charge of him, and, in pursuance of the latter conspiracy, assaulting certain officers of...
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