<P><a href="http://www.todayonline.com/articles/63408.asp" target="_blank" >http://www.todayonline.com/articles/63408.asp</A></P><P>A channel opens for 'discovery'
Law society proposing changes to make defendants' lives easier
Derrick A Paulo
<a href="[email protected]" target="_blank" >[email protected]</A>
THE scales of justice could soon strike a new balance that gives more leeway to accused people with imperfect memories and poor language skills.
.
Criminal law practitioners are crossing their fingers as they sense that change is in the air.
.
Over the past three months, the Law Society has held talks with the Home Affairs and Law ministries to highlight how, in their opinion, criminal proceedings are being conducted in a manner unfair to the accused.
.
Specifically, the dialogue dealt with two issues: The prosecution's practice of not disclosing case material or evidence in their possession to defence counsel and the lack of access to legal counsel.
.
Criminal lawyers have long argued for the process of discovery ¡ª in which the prosecution shares information with the defence ¡ª especially statements made to the police in the course of investigations.
.
They say that their clients could have forgotten details of what they told the police, only to be confronted with them in the course of a trial. The problem is worse for those who are not proficient in English and whose statements are crafted by recording officers.
.
Recent dialogue hints that some change could be considered.
.
Following these talks, the Law Society is preparing a policy paper on discovery in criminal trials as well as access to counsel during arrest, which it intends to submit to the two ministries next month.
.
"(We) are encouraged by the willingness of the authorities to consider proposals for change from the Law Society," said a spokesperson.
.
At a seminar last Friday ¡ª titled A Cry for Criminal Discovery ¡ª the desire for change was palpable among about 100 lawyers present.
.
During the question-and-answer session, several lawyers rose to speak of the roadblocks they faced in fighting their clients' cases ¡ª some to learn that their peers have had the same encounters.
.
According to the two speakers invited for the seminar, Senior Counsels Amarjeet Singh and K S Rajah ¡ª both of whom have been judicial commissioners ¡ª discovery is needed so that everyone has fair and equal protection under the law.
.
With discovery, an accused person learns the nature of the case being brought against him, including witness statements, so that he knows how to respond. This is preferred to trial by ambush.
.
"If you don't allow for discovery, the adversarial process is not there. We subscribe to the adversarial process because we think it is the process which allows truth to emerge," Mr Rajah told Today.
.
So, why has change been so hard to come by? The obvious answer, he said, as to why the Attorney General's Chambers does not want to change is because "(its) job is made easier if (it) has all the cards".
.
Earlier, however, Mr Singh cited findings in other countries that rule that "the fruits of investigation" in state possession are not state property meant for use in securing a conviction but "the property of the public to be used to ensure that justice is done".
.
This is why all interrogation statements, which under Singapore law can take the place of an accused person's sworn testimony, should be made available, he said.
.
"Otherwise, the prosecution can use the one paragraph which may be incriminating. He might have said something else in 35 other paragraphs but you are not given it at all. Remember, the devil is in the details," he said.
.
With the lack of legal access during arrest as well as the extension of the remand period, the police can record a considerable amount of statements, the speakers noted.
.
In order to change the law and the justice system, Mr Rajah called on criminal lawyers to "assert the things that are reasonable and fair, both to the defence and the prosecution". Law society proposing changes to make defendants' lives easier
Derrick A Paulo
<a href="[email protected]" target="_blank" >[email protected]</A>
</P> |
IP卡
狗仔卡
显身卡
