Day 188 - 15 Nov 95 - Page 17
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2 MR. RAMPTON: I quite agree.
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4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Although it is said from time to time that
5 evidence of what another person has said to the witness is
6 admissible of evidence of the fact that it was said, on
7 very, very few occasions is that the purpose for adducing
8 it. The only possible relevance is that it might be true;
9 and I have just got to stick of rules of evidence so far as
10 that is concerned.
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12 MR. RAMPTON: That why I am saying -----
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14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is not a question of preferring one side
15 or the other; it is that I cannot take it into account, and
16 there is no point in it being adduced in "evidence".
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18 MR. RAMPTON: Then it should not be read out.
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20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. I will hear what Mr. Morris has to say
21 about it, but I have to say that is my reaction at the
22 moment. The second thing is that I cannot see any point in
23 asking Miss Tobin if she wants to elaborate on it paragraph
24 by paragraph. If you have some particular point in mind
25 where you think it is not clear or there really is
26 something very important I ought to know about on that
27 topic, then there we are. But we have nearly three very
28 full and dense pages of factual assertions by Miss Tobin in
29 her statement; and she has told me that she made her
30 statement, reminding herself of events as she recorded them
31 at the time and as they appear in her notes.
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33 I really wonder, quite apart from any procedural points,
34 what there is to gain from going paragraph by paragraph
35 through it and saying, in effect, "Is there anything more
36 you want to say about that?" All it does is make
37 Miss Tobin is think in her own mind: "Well, is there
38 anything more I can say about that?" She is an intelligent
39 woman who has made this statement of no doubt the matters
40 she thought were significant, from notes which cover about
41 five times as many pages.
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43 MR. RAMPTON: Can I make one additional observation?
44 I respectfully agree with what your Lordship has just
45 said. In the time available on, whenever it was -- Monday,
46 I think it was, Monday afternoon -- there is one piece of
47 evident hearsay which I am afraid I did not draw to
48 your Lordship's attention.
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50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Tell me about that now.
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52 MR. RAMPTON: It is in the fifth paragraph on the first page,
53 the last two sentences, starting: "As members of the crew
54 pointed out, this was often the case." I am sorry, I just
55 missed it on Monday.
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57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes -- to the end of that paragraph?
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59 MR. RAMPTON: To the end of that paragraph, yes, which is
60 plainly a continuation of the same report.
