Day 188 - 15 Nov 95 - Page 17


     
     1
     2   MR. RAMPTON:  I quite agree.
     3
     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.
    11
    12   MR. RAMPTON:  That why I am saying -----
    13
    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".
    17
    18   MR. RAMPTON:  Then it should not be read out.
    19
    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.
    32
    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.
    42
    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.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Tell me about that now. 
    51 
    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.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes -- to the end of that paragraph?
    58
    59   MR. RAMPTON:  To the end of that paragraph, yes, which is
    60        plainly a continuation of the same report.

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