CARMEL RICKARD: Magistrates playing prosecutor
Two fresh cases illustrate legal failings by the country’s magistrates. In the first, the judicial officer effectively took over cross-examination; the second constituted ‘a grave miscarriage of justice’
14 September 2023 - 05:00
Over the past week, there have again been high court decisions on cases where magistrates really dropped the ball, making significant errors.
One appeal to the high court deals with an attempted housebreaking case in which the magistrate seems to have forgotten that his role was to preside rather than prosecute. The two high court judges who heard the appeal commented that, given the record, it was hardly surprising that the accused had raised the question of the role played by the magistrate during the trial. ..
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