Summary Trial of Minor Offences
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835501900408 |
| Published date | 01 October 1955 |
| Date | 01 October 1955 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Summary
Trial
of
Minor
Offences
COMMITTEE'S
PROPOSED
CHANGES
THE Departmental Committee on
"The
Summary
Trial
. of Minor Offences" has now submitted its Report (Cmd.
9524).
The
former Home Secretary appointed this committee,
with Sir Reginald Sharpe, Q.C., as its chairman, to consider
what changes, if any, should be made in
the
law relating to
the
trial of minor offences in magistrates' courts with a view to
saving
the
time of
the
courts and of witnesses without pre-
judicing
the
rights of
the
defendant,
and
in particular to
recommend whether changes should be made on three
specified subjects which are mentioned below.
The
committee
state
that
their recommendations can be summarised briefly
in one sentence: First,
the
existing widespread practice of
absent defendants writing aletter to
the
court admitting their
guilt should be given the validity and legal effect which it now
lacks,
and
that
this should be done at once as a matter of
urgency; second, defendants should no longer be able, by
absenting themselves, to prevent the court knowing about any
previous convictions they may have, provided that
the
Police
have served
upon
them a list of any such convictions.
There
is no doubt
that
aconsiderable saving of the time
of both official
and
unofficial witnesses would result from
the
carrying
out
of these recommendations, as well as a saving of
money.
The
problem presented by
the
absent defendant has
become vastly more important because of
the
increase in
the
proportion of road traffic cases, a proportion which may
become even greater in the future. Fifty years ago nearly all
defendants appeared before the justices for
the
petty sessional
area in which they lived; personal attendance was
the
rule,
and
attendance at
the
nearby court raised no particular difficulties.
The
advent of the motor vehicle has altered all that, since many
offences are now committed by persons who live far from
the
347
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