In the Irish Courts
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836502900309 |
| Published date | 01 July 1965 |
| Date | 01 July 1965 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
In the Irish Courts
COURT
OF
APPEAL
IN
NORTHERN
IRELAND
DANGERS
IN
HEARING CASES TOGETHER
Hedley v. Sparrow
ARISING out of the collision of two vehicles at midnight,
both drivers were charged with dangerous driving and
the
Resident Magistrate proceeded to deal with both charges
as one case. One of the accused, the appellant in Hedley o,
Sparrow (1964,
N.l.
72), was unable to remember anything
about
the
collision when he was later interviewed in hospital
by the police. At the trial, a police officer gave evidence of this
fact, stated he had inspected the scene of the collision, and
reported astatement he had taken from the driver of the other
car. A submission of no case to answer made by Hedley's
counsel was overruled and evidence was
then
given by
the
driver of
the
other car, which coincided with his statement to
the
police.
The
case was held to be proved against
both
defendants, who were fined and ordered to pay costs. Hedley
appealed on
the
ground
that
when dealing with the charge
against him,
the
Magistrate had been wrong in taking into
consideration the evidence given by the other driver.
In
the Court of Appeal, Lord MacDermott C.J. pointed
out
that
the two defendants had not been charged jointly:
"the
charges against both drivers were heard together in
the
sense
that
the prosecution offered all the evidence it wished to
adduce in the two cases and after
that
each of the accused was
heard in his defence".
Of
this procedure (hearing
the
Crown case against two defendants at the same time) the
Lord
Chief Justice remarked that, although it may be con-
venient (and
"I
do not say
that
it should never be followed"),
it
must
never be permitted to operate in such a way
that
the
rights of
the
accused are abridged.
"It
is", he added,
"a
procedure which necessitates great care on
the
part
of
the
210
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