Day 120 - 03 May 95 - Page 67


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do think that is a consideration, but if
     2        you look at it in this light:  There is some benefit in it,
     3        quite apart from any extra use we may put that three days
     4        for, whether it is getting another witness in or disposing
     5        of any procedural arguments which have not been disposed
     6        of, you do have the advantage of, we can say, Mr. Stein's
     7        evidence-in-chief to finish that week.  If there is a bit
     8        of time left on the Friday you can start cross-examining if
     9        you wish; otherwise you have the weekend before you start.
    10        You have then got five straight days which, even on a four
    11        to eight day estimate, will mean you will get well through
    12        your cross-examination; you will have prepared it all; you
    13        will have notes for it which you can come back to towards
    14        the end of July.
    15
    16   MS. STEEL:  I do not know if it is simple for someone who is
    17        trained in law and has a kind of legalistic mind, but we
    18        find it quite hard to come back to things after three
    19        weeks' time to remember what has been said.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Where do we go after Friday 30th,
    22        Mr. Rampton?
    23
    24   MR. RAMPTON:  We have not got anything at the moment.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What is the difficulty with Mr. Stein?
    27
    28   MR. RAMPTON:  He has got business commitments, that is all.
    29        I say "that is all".  He would prefer to start on the 22nd
    30        and, to be quite honest, my Lord, though I hear what
    31        Ms. Steel says, I am not heavily impressed by it.  One of
    32        the points of providing daily transcripts of the trial is
    33        so that people can know what the witness has said.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I agree with that, except daily transcripts
    36        are an enormous amount of work.  A lot of people may or may
    37        not use their daily transcripts every evening.
    38
    39   MR. RAMPTON:  I am sorry.  Perhaps I am not making myself
    40        clear.  I am not suggesting -- one does not get them in the
    41        evening so one cannot -- that is one advantage of splitting
    42        Mr. Stein if we have to, and I repeat I sincerely hope it
    43        is not necessary.  The great advantage from the defendants'
    44        point of view, as they have with Mr. Beavers and will have
    45        with Mr. Preston, is that they will have a complete record
    46        of his evidence-in-chief and five days of cross-examination
    47        before they come back to him one, two, three weeks later.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Which is the more difficult from Mr. Stein's
    50        point of view?  Starting before the 22nd or carrying on 
    51        after the 30th, if it is necessary? 
    52 
    53   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I do not know about that last question
    54        because I have not asked him, but I will ask him about that
    55        and I will come back to it.  That I do not know.  I was
    56        simply told that it was very difficult for him to be in a
    57        position to give evidence before the 22nd and that he had
    58        the whole of the week of the 26th, as I have earlier
    59        indicated, and that he had the week of the 24th if it was
    60        needed.

Prev Next Index