The defendant failed to appear at his trial. The judge urged the jury to ‘use their common sense’ in interpreting whether his non appearance indicated guilt. Even if there had been any unfairness in this, the judge’s own summing up later remedied that failure. He had been sentenced to thirteen years for manslaughter committed in a serious, drunken, assault. Even though comparisons in such cases were of limited value, it was out of line with general trends, and a sentence of ten years was substituted.
Judges:
Carswell LCJ
Citations:
[1998] NIECA 1, [1998] NICA 1, [1999] NI 39
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Crime, Criminal Sentencing, Northern Ireland
Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.162939