White-collar crime - Document help for jury aids justice

JUSTICE Minister Alan Shatter’s announcement yesterday that measures have been implemented to help complex trials should be warmly welcomed.

The provisions — which will allow judges to order copies of documents, charts, transcripts and agreed summaries of evidence, as well as other documents, to be given a jury to assist its deliberations — were part of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act of 2001, but its full implementation was delayed for 10 years because of technical difficulties and the cost of reproducing such documents.

The installation of digital equipment in the courts should overcome the technical difficulties, and the cost involved is, in Mr Shatter’s opinion, “far outweighed” by the need for justice to be done in serious fraud cases.

“This is an important step in tackling white-collar crime,” he said. “For too long, the complexity of evidence in fraud trials has been allowed to stand as a barrier to effective prosecution.”

Henceforth, a judge may order that copies of documents may be presented to the jury to help in their deliberations, particularly in complicated fraud cases. The material may include documents admitted in evidence at the trial, the transcript of opening and closing arguments, and the trial judge’s charge to the jury. The trial judge will be further empowered to provide the jury with any document that would be of assistance in its deliberations.

If the prosecutor intends to ask the judge to submit any document to the jury, this document must be presented to the defence in advance of the trial in order to provide the defence with a proper opportunity to respond. The judge will then take into consideration any representations on behalf of the accused in relation to the document.

Presenting members of the jury with such documents, actual transcripts and agreed summaries should facilitate their deliberations. It will afford prosecution and defence alike a better opportunity to explain the issues of a case in a way that will be more comprehensively understood.

Too many cases have been delayed interminably. The Director of Public Prosecutions has only one chance to get a conviction and has often had to hold off on bringing a prosecution for fear of not being able to get a conviction due to the complexity of a case.

The changes should help to enhance our system of justice by assisting both An Garda Síochána and the DPP to prosecute white-collar crime.