The state v Samuel

• Jurisdiction: Trinidad & Tobago
• Judge: Holdip, J.
• Judgment Date: 03 May 2005
• Neutral Citation: TT 2005 HC 35
• Docket Number: T 12/04
• Court: High Court (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Date: 03 May 2005

High Court

Holdip, J.

T 12/04

The state

and

Samuel

Mr Marlon Sambucharan for State

Mr Theodore R. Guerra S.C. for accused Mr Lennox Phillip

Criminal practice and procedure - Stay of proceedings — Tenuous evidence — Accused indicted for manslaughter and prosecution relying on alleged oral admission and testimony of other witnesses — Whether oral admission admissible — Whether proceedings to be stayed — Judges Rules — Need for caution before extracting statement — Discretion in Judge or magistrate to decide whether statement admissible — Finding of sufficient evidence to connect accused with offence — Application for stay refused.

Holdip, J.

1 Counsel for the defence has requested that the Court, stay we proceedings before it on the following grounds:

• (1) On deposition there is no evidence to show that the accused committed the offence of manslaughter as he has been indicted upon or for any other offence.

• Counsel has submitted that the nature of the evidence purporting to connect the accused with the offence as charged is at best tenuous and unsatisfactory.

• Reference was made to the deposition of then Corporal Vincel Edwards at pages 27, lines 7 through to 17 with particular emphasis to the alleged oral admission at lines 14 – 16.

• Undoubtedly as has been accepted by the prosecuting counsel this alleged oral admission is at the kernel of the prosecution's case.

• (2) Counsel further submitted that when the witness, Corporal Edwards spoke with the accused he failed to caution him. This was a serious breach of the Judge's Rules and of the accused constitutional rights and that this breach was sufficiently of a serious effect that it removed the right of protection against self-incrimination.

• (3) Further that a perusal of the deposition evidence of Corporal Edwards reveals a failure to properly record and document in official police documents this alleged oral admission which he admits in his evidence was a significant piece of information obtained in the course of his investigation. Reference was drawn to pages 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 and the extensive cross-examination therein about the steps taken to preserve a written documented record of this alleged oral admission.

2 Defence Counsel has placed heavy reliance on the cases of Frankie Boodram v. the State Cr. A. No.17 of 2003, delivered on 17 ^th February, 2004. Particular significance was placed on pages 14, 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20. The Court was also referred to the English Court of Appeal decision of Pattinson and Law at 58 Crim. Appeal Reports 417 especially the judgment of Lawton, L.J. at pages 422, 423, 424 and 425.

3 In reply prosecuting attorney seemed eager to agree with the submissions of defence counsel that relying on the present state of the law as presented in the Frankie Boodram and Pattinson and Laws decisions – that there was a serious issue if there were no proper records made of the oral admission.

4 He submitted in counter to the arguments of defence counsel that the State was relying on the alleged oral admission and the testimony of the other witnesses at the accident scene. A look at the deposition would also reveal to this Court that he would be relying on the evidence of the witness Frankie Jordan from which he would ask a jury properly directed to draw reasonable inferences.

5 Prosecuting attorney also seemed to have accepted the defence contention that the accused should have been cautioned when he was given the warning notice of an intention to prosecute — in fact he categorically stated that such a breach put the State's case in a shaky position. But however there was still a case to put to the jury on the basis of the other evidence on the deposition.

6 The alleged admission by the accused given to Corporal Edwards if accepted as having been made, that “he was driving a black gallant PAF 1495 west along Claude Noel Highway...