The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-10-28
ENGLISH CRIMINAL LAW.
An Important Change which Has
Just Become Operative.

London Letter in New York Sun.
The most important change that has been
made for fifty years in the criminal law of
1t is the prisoners evidence act of the last
parliamentary session, which enables an ac-
cused person TO give evidence on his own be-
half Hitherto, except in very rare offenses,
he has not been an admissible witness.
From now on every prisoner is invited,
though not compelled. to give his own ac-
count OF the matter on oath and to be cross
examined on IT, The husband or wife, as
the case may be, is also available. Hitherto
neither has been allowed to give evidence
Tor the other IN criminal case. In other
countries it has been Thought surprising
that so reasonable reform should not have
view of the legal community here About
nalf the Judges and many of the busiest
criminal lawyers are opposed TO it, but the
FIRST days experience goes to Justify the
general sense of the community that the
new system should be adopted.
The old prisoner Who, when asked whether
till hear the evidence?'' will be expected
to furnish it himself. Trials are now likely
10 last longer and convictions to be more
numerous 1t is already evident that in the
large class of cases where number of per-
sons are charged with some form of joint
swindling il will go i'll with the gang if they
volunteer to follow each other into the wit
ness box. If~one alone makes that choice
and gives a version framed to exculpate
himself ii is certain that the others will not
stand silently in the dock when they be-
lieve that they can do the same for them
selves Thus their stories are tested against
One of the first cases under the new law
was of this description. Two men who
stood In the relation of employer and work.
man We're charged together with felony
They had been employed repairing the roof
OF wharf. After they left, with their tools
ana cart tne latter was searched and found
to contain quantity of valuable goods
Tea and wire netting-that had belonged to
snip cargoeS stored on the premises. 1t
would have been disastrous to refuse to give
evidence fol. the only hope of acquittal was
70 satisfy the jury that the goods were
there by mistake or that some one else had
put them there. Under the old law the
counsel fer the defense could argue in favor
or either of these explanations and suggest
70 the Jury that If his clients could go into
the witness box they would make it all
clear. The result in this case was that the
employer; who might have been acquitted,
thought the netting was being used in the
work he had undertaken of covering the
roof. and that under that impression it was
TO De taken away It game to the. other
man turn TO explain how a number of
walking. sticks from the wharf came to be
showed inside the sack with the wire net
ting. He said the foreman let him have
mem. He saw he was not believed. and
till then, might have had the benefit of the
doubt The result was that the jury formed
a strong impression that each man knew
convicted.
This consequence of the new legislation
VIII be very important in company cases
where directors are charged with classifying
balance sheets and similar offenses. Hith-
erto IN England jury has never convicted,
except on the most abundant evidence, in
complicated cases of this kind, and of late
prosecutions in some very bad cases have
not been undertaken because 1t was known
that only out of the directors own mouths
could the charges be proved.
Inc availability of the husband or wife
under the new act is also most important
The extraordinary Sykes litigation early in
lures of Sir 1atton Sykes to bills for enor-
nous amounts were forged, probably had
no sequel in criminal prosecution. be-
cause of the inadmissibi1ty of Lady Sykes 8
evidence in affecting her husband
The judges who object to the new law ar
que that as they must now question the
prisoner to elicit the truth the former in
valuable security for absolute irnpartiality
IN the eyes of the accused will be gone.
Such questions must be hostile in FORM
ana they fear the accused may think that
Justice IS refused to them because of the
attitude of the judge towards them This
objection has not impressed the public as
having much substance.
more serious anxiety is that the new
act does not lead to lOgic-chopping bick-
erings between judge and prisoner, such as
every Anarchist trial in France gives rise
to. There they express admiration for the
system England has now discarded, be-
cause a prisoner was not compelled to 'cou-
per sa langue" in an interrogatory with the
Judge, who had to have the case COM
pletely proved without the formers inter
vention. As a measure of practical pro-
cedure the new act has become necessary
through the incapacity of the British de-
tective police Not only do they fail to
detect more than half the serious crimes
that are committed. but even when they do
lay notorious ruffian by the heels he is
frequently liberated after repeated remands,
because they have failed to prevent his ac-
completes from removing the necessary
witnesses. There. will now be a greater
readiness in magistrates to commit for trial.
seeing that cross-examination may compel
the man TO prove his guilt out of his own
mouth in cases where the police have failed
TO trace evidence for the prosecution.