Clerical error sinks child rape trial

Of course clerical errors matter far more than child rape!

An accused child rapist has escaped being sent to trial because of a bungle by a prosecutions clerk who left a file sitting in her in-tray. By the time the senior clerk noticed the alleged sex offender's indictment on Monday, it was past the deadline for it to be presented to court.

On September 21 last year the man, who was charged with rape and three counts of indecent treatment of a child, was committed to stand trial in Townsville District Court. The Crown had six months from the date of committal to present the indictment to the court. On Thursday, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was refused an extension of time to present the indictment.

Tony Collins, a Townsville lawyer who represented the alleged offender, said it would be up to police to recharge his client and start the court process all over again.

Judge Clive Wall said if he were to agree to the application for an extension of time to present the indictment, "some encouragement may be given to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to not be concerned with proper systems and with time limits applicable to the presentation of indictments". The defendant was ordered to be discharged. The DPP office could not be contacted yesterday for comment.

From here






A TRIAL THAT COST 60 MILLION POUNDS -- BUT STILL NO VERDICT AT THE END

Six men were acquitted today when one of Britain's longest and costliest fraud trials collapsed at the Old Bailey. The case, alleging corruption in connection with the Jubilee Line Underground extension in London, is estimated to have cost 60 million pounds and had lasted more than 18 months when it suddenly imploded.... The trial folded after sickness, jury problems, lengthy delays and disruption dogged proceedings so much that a fair trial became impossible. The jury was finally discharged today by Judge Ann Goddard with her thanks.

She then formally cleared the six after the prosecution said that they would not pursue a retrial and offered no evidence. Anthony Upward, QC, prosecuting, said the prosecution's decision to ask for the jury to be discharged was taken with the approval of the Director of Public Prosecutions after a review of the case.....

But the defendants themselves expressed their fury at the whole process after being formally cleared by the judge. One of the six, Mark Skinner said: "I have been found not guilty of both offences alleged against me, allegations I have consistently denied. "Although I should now feel relief and happiness, I feel only anger - anger at a prosecution which has destroyed my business and tortured my family for over seven years, anger at a prosecution that has caused significant damage to my health, anger that no one in a position to do so stepped in and ended what to all reasonable observers had become a farce long ago, anger at the fact that those who have persecuted me to this day - the British Transport Police and the Crown Prosecution Service and those instructed by them - fail to accept that they got this terribly wrong. "And anger at what they have done in destroying my reputation in order to protect theirs."

Mr Upward told the court that the Crown had a duty to the public to ensure that every trial was fair and seemed to be fair. "We have now concluded that the continuation of this trial would undermine that fundamental principle. Since September 2003 this case has suffered disruption. Following the opening for the defence it began to lose continuity. It has now lost all momentum," he said.....

The trial had been punctuated with problems throughout and had even been criticised in the House of Commons for "the inordinate amount of time" it was taking. The case started in 1997 when the British Transport Police started investigating alleged corruption in connection with contracts for the Jubilee Line extension. It was not until June 2003 that the trial of the six men accused first opened. The jury was told it was expected to last for 18 months. By March last year - still in the midst of the prosecution case - the jury was down to 10 members. One had become pregnant and the other arrested for alleged benefit fraud.

The trial had already been spotlighted in the House of Commons last June when John Burnett, MP for Torridge and West Devon, had criticised "inefficiencies" of the crown prosecution service. ... Defence lawyers had also applied to the Attorney General to stop the prosecution last summer. But the request was turned down. The defence claimed throughout that the case was unmanageable and repeatedly urged Judge Ann Goddard to halt it.

More here

(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)