Templeton v Lyons
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 27 June 1942 |
| Docket Number | No. 14. |
| Date | 27 June 1942 |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
HIGH COURT.
Lord Justice-Clerk. Lord Wark. Ld. Jamieson.
Statutory Offences—Education—Failure to educate children—Failure to comply with attendance order—"Reasonable excuse"—Father unaware of child's absence from school and of attendance order—Education Authority's communications intercepted by mother—Day Industrial Schools (Scotland) Act, 1893 (56 and 57 Vict. cap. 12), sec. 4—Education (Scotland) Act, 1883 (46 and 47 Vict. cap. 56), sec. 11.
Under sec. 4 of the Day Industrial Schools (Scotland) Act, 1893, a parent may be prosecuted before a Court of summary jurisdiction for failure to comply with an "attendance order" without "any reasonable excuse" within the meaning of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1883. Under sec. 11 of the latter Act, reasonable excuses are that the child has been prevented from attending school by sickness or any other unavoidable cause, or that there is no school within three miles of the child's residence.
In the prosecution of a father for an offence under sec. 4 of the Act of 1893, it was proved that all necessary steps in connection with the enforcement of the order had been taken by the appropriate authority by communications addressed to the accused, and that he had not complied with the order, but in defence he deponed that he had never known of any irregularity in his child's attendances at school, and that all the communications addressed to him had been intercepted by his wife and dealt with by her, entirely without his cognisance. He also founded on the fact that the school attendance officer, who knew him by sight, on several occasions had passed him in the street and had not informed him of his child's absences from school, as it was his duty to do. No evidence was led by the accused in corroboration of his statements. The Sheriff-substitute found him not guilty.
In a stated case on appeal, held that, while the facts deponed to by the accused as to his ignorance might not in strictness amount to a "reasonable excuse" within the meaning of sec. 11 of the Education Act of 1883, they would have warranted the finding of the Sheriff-substitute, had they been legally corroborated by other evidence, but that in the absence of such corroboration his finding was not justified. Held further that the school attendance officer, who had no reason to think that the accused was unaware of his position, had not failed in his duty.
Thomas Lyons, Kirkintilloch, was charged in the Sheriff Court at Dumbarton on a summary complaint at the instance of Archibald Angus Templeton, County Clerk, County Buildings, Dumbarton, appointed by the County Council of the County of Dumbarton to prosecute under the Education (Scotland) Acts, 1872 to 1939, as read along with the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929, which set forth that "you did, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with an attendance order pronounced by the Kirkintilloch School Management Committee on 4th February 1941, in terms of sections 7 and 8 of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908, and intimated to you on 12th February 1941, ordering that William Lyons your child residing with you then aged 13 years should attend St Ninian's Roman Catholic High School, Kirkintilloch, every time the said school was open for the instruction of children of similar age, in so far as the said St Ninian's Roman Catholic High School having during the period from 29th September 1941 to 24th October 1941, both dates inclusive, been open 40 times, the said William Lyons was present thereat only 33 times during said period contrary to the terms of said attendance order and to the Education (Scotland) Acts, 1872 to 1939, particularly the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908, sections 7 and 8, and the Day Industrial Schools (Scotland) Act, 1893, section 4; whereby you are liable to the penalties, expenses and liabilities set forth in said section 4 of the Day Industrial Schools (Scotland) Act, 1893, as read along with the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act, 1932, section 9, and the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act, 1937, sections 75, 77 and 79 and in the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act, 1908, section 48."1
After hearing evidence, the Sheriff-substitute (Burns) found the accused not guilty, and at the request of the prosecutor stated a case for appeal to the High Court of Justiciary.
The case stated:—"I found the following facts admitted or proved in evidence:—(1) The child was 14 years of age on 24th November 1941, and is enrolled in St Ninian's Roman Catholic High School, Kirkintilloch; (2) He resided with his father, the respondent, and his mother, the respondent's wife. Prior to January 1941, owing to the unsatisfactory attendance of said child at said school, the respondent was summoned by the Clerk to the School Management Committee of Kirkintilloch to appear...
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Lothian Regional Council v Rennie
...contexts, including statutory contexts where offences were created. I refer, simply by way of illustration, to Templeton v. LyonsSC 1942 J.C. 102, one of many cases in which the court had to deal with the notion of "reasonable excuse" for non-compliance with an attendance order made under t......