CONSTABLES' NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 247, 24 February 1911, Page 2

CONSTABLES' NOTES

JUDGE EDWARDS GIVES AN INTER* ESTJNG RULING. Auckland, February 21. An interesting ruling has been given by Judge Edwards on a point of general interest. It is a common practice for eonstables to quote from or refer to notes written in a note-book in either the Supreme Court or Police Court proceedings. This was done by Constable Maher in giving evidence in a theft case at the Auckland Supreme Court yesterday, and while under cross-examination, Mr. Luntlon, who was defending, requested (o have the note-book produced for personal perusal. The constable demurred, but Mr. Justice Edwards pointed out, that defending counsel bad an undoubted right (o see the notes to which a constable referred. Mr. Lundon mentioned that Mr. C'utten, S.M., in the course of a totalisator-tickot case at the Police Court a few days ago refused to allow him, as defending counsel, to peruse the notes used by a constable, and the Magistrate intimated that he would continue to rule that counsel had no such right until he was over-ruled by a Judge of the Supreme Court. His Honor repeated that defending counsel bad a right to see the constable's notes when referred to in the case, and added that he had never heard of a Supreme Court Judge expressing any opinion to the contrary.