In the Scottish Courts
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835702100308 |
| Published date | 01 July 1957 |
| Date | 01 July 1957 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
In the Scottish Courts
CRIMINAL APPEAL (SCOTLAND) ACT, 1926:
NEW
EVIDENCE
Higgins and Imrie v.
H.M.
Advocate (1956,
SL.T.
307)
THIS case was eventually considered by the High
Court
of
Justiciary as an application by the accused to lead additional
evidence.
The
authority for such an application is to be found
in section 6 of
the
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act, 1926.
Sub-section (b) empowers the High Court to order any
witness, whether or not he was called at the trial, who would
have been acompellable witness at the trial, to attend
and
be
examined before the Court.
The
history of the case was
that
in December, 1955,
Higgins
and
Imrie were charged in the Glasgow Sheriff
Court
with breaking into aclothiers shop and stealing an overcoat
and cloth.
The
main prosecution evidence,
upon
which they
were convicted, was that of one eye witness and two police
officers who arrested
the
accused nearby shortly afterwards,
when one of
them
still had property stolen from
the
shop in
his possession.
In
May, 1956, the two police officers appeared before a
sitting of
the
High
Court
of Justiciary when they were charged
with perjury committed by
them
during the trial of Higgins
and
Imrie.
The
jury
were unanimous in finding
them
Not
Guilty.
In
the course of this trial, however, evidence came out
which, to some extent, related to
the
charge against Higgins
and Imrie
but
of which neither the Crown nor the accused at
the
time of their trial had any knowledge.
On this state of affairs Higgins and Imrie presented
petitions to the Secretary of State who referred
the
case to
the
High Court of Justiciary. Eventually notes of appeal were
lodged in that Court on behalf of Higgins
and
Imrie asking
the
Court
to hear this further evidence.
On
13th June, 1956,
the
High Court of Justiciary refused to hear this evidence.
The
Lord
Justice General
(Lord
Clyde) considered first
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