Day 163 - 25 Sep 95 - Page 48


     
     1        it was, North Kingstown, Rhode Island in early 1990.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There is no follow-up to that?
     4
     5   MR. RAMPTON:  I do not know the follow-up.  I have not been
     6        through these with a fine tooth comb.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have assumed that if they are -- maybe I am
     9        wrong to assume that the fine would appear in the
    10        computerised memory?
    11
    12   MR. RAMPTON:  No.  The problem is with something like this,
    13        first of all, it depends how efficient the system is which
    14        has the cuttings on the database.  It depends how efficient
    15        the computer operator is at finding them.  I imagine it is
    16        a word search system, I do not know, a bit like Lexis
    17        I suspect.  Finally, of course, one depends on the
    18        newspapers themselves.  One knows only too well first that
    19        newspapers distort, sometimes deliberately but more often
    20        in error, the information so that the public gets the wrong
    21        facts.  Secondly, they report one stage of a case without
    22        ever reporting its conclusion, especially if there is the
    23        usual delay, there is a two-year gap between the original
    24        accusation and final adjudication.  Really to allow this
    25        sort of material in this case on that sort of flimsy basis
    26        might almost be said to contravene Lord Justice Neill's
    27        requirements of reasonably grounds for believing that the
    28        evidence will become available to support what is pleaded,
    29        not to see, and this is crucially important, not to see, as
    30        I think Mr. Morris sees it, whether or not the allegation
    31        might or might not be true.
    32
    33        My Lord, for all these reasons, we invite you to reject
    34        both those sets of the proposed amendments.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I would like you to reply in the morning when
    37        you have your newspaper photocopy, hopefully.
    38
    39   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  I have found the ----
    40
    41   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If you have found the other reference tell me
    42        about that in the morning.
    43
    44   MR. MORRIS:  I have found the 1,000 and the 4 per cent labour
    45        investigators.  It is on page 50 and it is the second
    46        paragraph on page 50.
    47
    48   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let me find it.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:  It was in the Chicago Tribune 1990, March 18th. 
    51        "Enforcement of the child labour laws has been a low 
    52        priority.  A recent general accounting office study found 
    53        the government 1,000 investigators and spent about 4 per
    54        cent of their efforts on the problem.  A congressional
    55        critic said it took an average of five complaints to prompt
    56        the Labour Department investigations of child labour
    57        cases."
    58
    59   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
    60

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