Slane v Advocate (HM)
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 08 February 1984 |
| Date | 08 February 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 7. |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
JC
L.J.-G. Emslie, Lords Cameron, Avonside.
Disclosure without justification of previous convictions by co-accused—Whether a breach of the statutory prohibition on adducing evidence of previous convictions of accused—Whether miscarriage of justice in the circumstances—Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (cap. 21), sec. 160 (1)1.
The appellant went to trial with two others. Counsel for the co-accused elicited the appellant's previous convictions from a Crown witness. No accused had given any evidence against any other. Accordingly the elicitation was unjustified. All three accused were convicted. The appellant appealed on the ground that there had been a miscarriage of justice.
Held (1) that the rights of a co-accused to have the judge and jury kept in ignorance of his criminal past until a verdict of guilt has been returned had been invaded, although there had been no breach of the prohibition in sec. 160 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.
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(2) That there was ample evidence before the jury to entitle them to convict all three accused as libelled and even before the existence of previous convictions had been elicited by counsel for the co-accused, counsel for the appellant had led evidence that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest in respect of another crime.
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(3) That the trial judge had in his charge given an explicit direction on the presumption of innocence, including in particular a direction to the jury to put out of their minds their knowledge of the accused's previous convictions elicited by counsel for the co-accused.
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(4) That there had accordingly been no miscarriage of justice; and appealrefused.
David Slane and two other persons were charged in the High Court at Edinburgh on indictment with conspiracy to commit robbery. After trial all three accused were found guilty. The appellant appealed against his conviction. The grounds of appeal appear sufficiently from the opinion of the Court.
The appeal was first heard on 2nd December 1983. It was continued for the notes of the evidence led to be extended and was heard again on 8th February 1984.
The facts and arguments of the parties appear fully from the opinion of the Court.
At advising on 8th February 1984, the opinion of the Court was delivered by the Lord Justice-General.
LORD JUSTICE-GENERAL (Emslie).—The appellant is David Slane who went to trial on indictment with James Morrison and his brother William...
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