People (Attorney General) v Riordan

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 02 May 1948
• Date: 02 May 1948
• Court: Court of Criminal Appeal

The People (Attorney-General) v. Riordan.

THE PEOPLE (at the suit of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL)

and

MICHAEL J. RIORDAN (1)

Court of Criminal Appeal.

Criminal law - Appeal - Trial - Unsworn statement from dock - Integral part of evidence - Must be included in transcript of evidence - Evidence of character of prisoner before sentence - Evidence of other complaints against prisoner - Whether admissible.

At his trial the prisoner elected not to give evidence but made an unsworn statement from the dock. The statement was not put before the jury in the summing-up and it did not appear in the official transcript of the evidence. Before sentence a superintendent of the Gárda Síochána, gave evidence of the character of the prisoner and stated that there were no previous convictions against him but that other complaints against him had been brought to his notice. He gave details of these complaints. On appeal against conviction and sentence:

Held that an unsworn statement from the dock is an integral part of the evidence which should be put to the jury in the charge of the trial Judge and should be included in the official transcript of the evidence.

Held also, that in giving evidence of the character of the prisoner after conviction and before sentence, the prosecution is not entitled to give evidence of other complaints against the accused of which the police are aware.

Criminal Appeal.

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