Day 182 - 02 Nov 95 - Page 55
1 letter of my ruling the other day.
2
3 If you do give written notice of additional matters, you
4 have to contemplate that the result may be that they cannot
5 be called where they are placed at the moment, because the
6 one thing we do not want them to do is come, give evidence,
7 go away and maybe come back maybe a month later. I really
8 do not think that that is a practical consideration here.
9
10 Have you taken any advice about what I said about
11 unchallenged Civil Evidence Act witnesses?
12
13 MR. MORRIS: No, because I think what you are saying is pretty
14 clear, really. It does not seem to be a complex matter.
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Bear in mind -----
17
18 MR. MORRIS: Is that correct?
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. I do not think there is anything complex
21 about it; it is as much common sense as anything.
22
23 Now, the other thing on my mind -- and it matters not to
24 me -- we can adjourn now until 2 o'clock tomorrow or we can
25 use some time between now and 2 p.m. tomorrow, either this
26 afternoon or tomorrow morning or both, for you to carry on
27 with your witnesses to be read. For instance, we still
28 have not actually read Mr. McGee, not into the evidence.
29
30 MR. MORRIS: I do not see any harm in doing a two or three --
31 I do not want to do Mr. McGee, because there are quite a
32 lot of complicated submissions by Mr. Rampton which I have
33 not -- I do not know if I have even got the notes here with
34 me. But maybe we could do some of the other ones.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Right. I think you ought to do Mr. McGee
37 soon. If you want me to, I will either tell you my
38 understanding of Mr. Rampton's objection or, tiresome
39 though it would be for him, he might repeat it very quickly
40 so that you know what the position is.
41
42 MS. STEEL: It might be easier if we just do another one,
43 because we have got it written down somewhere.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Right. You have read Karen Anstee, and you
46 have read Nicholas Magill. We then had Mr. Rampton's
47 argument on David McGee. The next of the ones you were not
48 going to call is Connor McCann, except I understand there
49 was a question about Mr. McCann.
50
51 MR. MORRIS: It does not do any harm to read his -- I mean, it
52 seems unlikely that we will be calling him in the light of
53 that. It does not do any harm, does it, to read it out,
54 and if for some reason he wants to -----
55
56 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, it does matter, I am afraid. It is a
57 matter of law. Even if there is a remote chance of him
58 being called, his statement cannot be read until after he
59 has given evidence.
60
