Attorney General (Comer) v Shorten
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 10 April 1961 |
| Date | 10 April 1961 |
| Court | High Court |
False declaration -Burden of proof - Actual knowledge that a declaration false - Means of knowledge as to falsity possessed by the prosecution and defendant respectively - Roads Act, 1920, s. 13 (2).
The defendant was charged in the District Court with having made on the 6th May, 1958, a declaration that his motor car had not been used by him or with his consent since the 31st December, 1957, which he knew to be false or misleading, for the purpose of obtaining a road licence for the said motor car for the period commencing on the 1st May, 1958, and ending on the 30th June, 1958. At the hearing of the charge evidence was adduced by the prosecution that on the 20th April, 1958, the car was seen being driven along the public road, but that the driver could not be identified; that on the 6th May, 1958, the defendant applied for a road licence for the period 1st May, 1958, to 30th June, 1958, and signed a declaration that the car had not been used by him, or with his consent, since the expiration of the previous licence on the 31st December, 1957; and that when interviewed concerning the matter he said that he had no explanation to offer as he believed the declaration to be true. No other evidence was adduced by the prosecution. The defendant applied to have the prosecution dismissed and the District Justice refused the application. Upon the hearing of a Case Stated, it was held by Davitt P.: 1. Where evidence could not be adduced as tothe...
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