R v Magill and Another
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Deeny J |
| Judgment Date | 26 September 2006 |
| Neutral Citation | [2006] NICC 29 |
| Court | Crown Court (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 26 September 2006 |
| Year | 2006 |
1
Neutral Citation no. [2006] NICC 29 Ref:
DEEF5655
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
26/9/06
(subject to editorial corrections)
IN THE CROWN COURT IN NORTHERN IRELAND
______
THE QUEEN
-v-
EDWARD FRANCIS MAGILL
AND
ALAN McKENZIE
[Admissibility in Evidence of Documents Seized at Ravensdale, Co. Louth]
________
DEENY J
[1] Part of the prosecution case against Edward Francis Magill in this
matter is that documents were found in his home at Doolargy, Ravensdale,
County Louth when those premises were searched by law enforcement
officers in the Republic of Ireland on 12 March 2003. The prosecution submit
that the nature and character of these documents point to the smuggling and
distribution of cigarettes, which were either counterfeit or on which duty had
not been lawfully paid. The prosecution case is that a number of these
documents are actually in Mr Magill's handwriting and therefore point all the
more strongly towards him having the necessary criminal intent on the charge
he faces.
[2] In the course of an application to stay the proceedings for abuse of
process, commenced on Monday 18 September 2006, Mr John McCrudden for
Mr Magill raised the use of these documents as a ground of his application.
At that stage he was complaining because the prosecution were seeking to put
them in evidence without adducing any documentation to the court to show
that they were lawfully entitled to do so. He was at that stage able to hand in
a folder (purple in colour) which contained the transcript of hearings before
Judge Gerard Haughton in the Dublin District Court relating to various other
accused. Despite express requests nothing of that kind nor any Letter of
Request had been adduced in respect of his client.
[3] The prosecution reaction to this was to say that these documents did
indeed exist. They complained that Mr McCrudden had not set out this issue
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