"NOT PROVEN."

Dunstan Times, Issue 3137, 2 October 1922, Page 7

"NOT PROVEN."

(By a Lawyer). Not for the first time has an English judge suggested that the law of England" should borrow from Scotland the convenient verdict of "Not proven." Mr Justice Darling's suggestion in the Court of Criminal Appeal that this might well be done should be considered carefully by those concerned. It is undoubtedly true that in a great many cases a verdict of "Not guilty" is necessarily brought in when there* is every reason for believing that the defendant is not innocent of the charge. But the English law is jealous of the character of the subject, and insists that unless the prosecution has proved the charge beyond all reasonable doubt, the person charged shall be accounted guiltless. It would undoubtedly be more consistent with the ideals of justice if the jury were able, in cases of doubt and suspicion, to bring in a verdict of "Not proven." Such a verdict would be infinitely more logical, and in many cases unquestionably more just. But there is one point about it which should not be overlooked. This is the slur which such, a verdict might reflect on the person whose trial has ended in this way. In the case of the almost certainly guilty, and of the man with a bad character, this would not matter very much, but it would undoubtedly leave a stigma on a ra41.11 who was an entirely innocent person . , , A really innocent person can usually inspire'sufficient confidence m a jury to gain a verdict of "Not guilty," and in practice the more precise and accurate one of "Not proven" would be left to those cases where the cunning or the luck of the guilty has baffled the prosecution's effort to prove their crime. In these circumstances, then, it would undoubtedly enrich the, machinery of the English law if there could be added to the present choice before the*jury the further alternative verdict of "Not proven."