Right to Claim Trial by Jury in Offences Otherwise Triable Summarily
| DOI | 10.1177/002201834000400110 |
| Date | 01 January 1940 |
| Published date | 01 January 1940 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Right
to
claim
Trial
by
Jury
in
Offences
otherwise
triable
summarily
BY
section 17
(I)
of
the
Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879,
the
right is given to a defendant to claim
that
an offence
be tried by a jury, when such offence (not being an assault)
is one for which the defendant
isliable
on summary conviction
to be imprisoned for a
term
exceeding three months.
The
claim
must
be made before the charge is gone
into;
and if
made the case
must
be dealt with as if it were indictable.
The
section then prescribes (sub-section 2) that the court,
before
the
charge is gone into, for the purpose
of
informing
the defendant
of
his right to be tried by a
jury-shall
address
him to
the
following effect: " You are charged with an offence
in respect of
the
commission of which you are entitled, if you
desire it, instead
of
being dealt with summarily, to be tried
by a
jury;
Do
you desire to be tried by a
jury?
"
The
question to be discussed is whether it is necessary
for the defendant to appear in person when charged with such
an offence.
At one time it was the undisputed practice to require
such
appearance, and certainly the words of the section,
if
that
stood alone, would admit of no
other
interpretation.
But in a leading legal journal quite recently it was emphatically
stated
that
appearance by
counselor
solicitor was sufficient;
and awell-known authority accepts this view within limita-
tions (Stone, 1939 edition, p. 104, note j).
The
opinion
that
personal appearance is
not
essential
is based on the concluding words of section 13 of the Summary
Jurisdiction Act, 1848,
"but
if both parties appear, either
personally or by their respective counsel or attorneys . . .
then
the
...
justices shall proceed to hear and determine
...
" ;
108
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