The Gazette 1972

gathering in of evidence. With the legal caution, they must warn a suspected person not to say anything that might be incriminating. This rule, with all its nuances and imperfections, is the most difficult obstacle in crime detection, and has been a fecund source of legal argu- ment before the Court of Criminal Appeal for many years. There must surely be a case for its total abolition. An innocent man is only too happy to avail of every opportunity to proclaim and protest his innocence. The caution may have had some validity in the days of Bill Sykes and criminals of similar mental calibre; latter- day criminals in the know can treat a police interrogation with insolence. This is, of course, after they have got over their initial surprise that the law is of such material assistance to them. Majority verdict of jury So much for legal theory. To commence commenting on the practice side would take a long time, but there is one very overdue legal reform necessary, and that is to make a jury verdict a majority decision of 10 votes to 2 to replace the unanimity rule. Such a provision was included in a Criminal Justice Bill, but has not yet reached the Statute book. Apart from all other forceful arguments for the change, th?re is the added value of it enabling juries to take in verdicts of guilty in unpopu- Michael J. Leech; Secretary /Treasurer, Dermot Loftus; Committee, Messrs Timothy Murphy, Peter A. Fitz- patrick, Donal M. King, Henry Murray and William Dundon. Tributes were paid to the former Chairman of the Association, the late Mr. Dermod M. F. Walsh, Law Agent, Dublin Corporation, and the meeting adjourned for an interval as a mark of respect. In proposing a vote of sympathy to the relatives of the late Mr. Walsh and also to the Dublin City and County Manager, Mr. William Dundon said that not alone had the Association lost a loyal colleague, but that the legal profession as a whole would be much the poorer at Mr. Walsh's death. •Continued from page 232 Rules which would help the defence are : (1) Greater freedom to attack prosecution witnesses without risking the introduction in evidence of previous convictions. These would only be admissible if the main purpose of the imputation was to challenge the wit- ness's credibility. The defendant could therefore safely allege that evidence had been planted on him. (2) Any burden of proof on the defendant (for in- stance to prove his insanity) would be discharged if

lar political cases where juries have to take into account possible threats and intimidation. If the 10-2 rule was law, then an accused and his cohorts would not know who the dissenters were. The Special Criminal Court Lastly a comment must be made on the operation of the Special Criminal Court as now established in this country. It must be regarded as a success, as it has dealt swiftly and effectively with a national crisis, but has also preserved two of the fundamental principles of the criminal law—the accused has been given a fair trial, and justice has been done. The time taken to have an accused brought to trial is speeded up considerably, and in this country it has worked wonders for the morale of the Garda Siochana who have had some frustrating experiences with reluctant juries. Indeed it can he suggested that other countries still operating the English legal system could well introduce such Courts to deal with very serious national problems, such as drug traffic crimes. For countries like the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. such a Court would be a very small price to pay for the efficient control and punishment of people transgressing the drug traffic laws, from which so much other crime emanates.

Local Authority Solicitors' Association The annual general meeting of the Association was held on Friday, 10th March 1972, at the Solicitors' Buildings, Four Courts, Dublin. he following officers were elected: Chairman, Following the annual general meeting a seminar was held, during the course of which papers on the following subjects were given :

(a) "Sales under Section 90 of the Housing Act, 1966, and the effect of the Housing (Loan Charges Contri- bution and Management) Regulations, 1967, Thereon" by William Dundon, City Solicitor, Limerick. (b) "The Implications of the Decision in Listowel U.D.C. v. MacDonagh (105 I.L.T.R. 99)" by Timothy Murphy, County Solicitor, Kerry. (c) "Relator Proceedings" by Michael J. Leech, Law Agent, Dun Laoghaire Corporation. (d) A talk on "Land Acquisition Problems" was given jointly by Brendan Kiernan, B.L., Legal Adviser, Department of Local Government, and Michael Mur- phy, B.L., Assistant Legal Adviser, Department of Local Government.

pioved on a balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt. (3) A warning that the jury should always be told of the danger of acting on uncorroborated evidence where the prosecution's case is based wholly or mainly on identification evidence. Proposals such as the wider admissibility of hearsay evidence and the abolition of sworn evidence for chil- dren under fourteen could help either side. The Guardian (30th June 1972) - 2 3 7