§ 38. Mr. Dempseyasked the Lord Advocate if, in view of the fact that failure to record proceedings when hearing criminal cases in court may prejudice the effectiveness of an appeal, he will take steps to have such evidence recorded.
§ The Lord Advocate (Mr. Norman Wylie)Proceedings in all cases tried on indictment are already recorded. It would not be practicable to record pro 1284 ceedings in cases tried summarily: in these cases appeal is normally by way of stated case. The Thomson Committee is considering criminal procedure generally, including the present appeal provisions.
§ Mr. DempseyDoes the Lord Advocate agree that in certain cases where appeals are heard one is relying on memory or notes in order to proceed with the deliberations? In such cases, is it not only fair that, to ensure a true and accurate report, all proceedings should be recorded? Otherwise, there must be instances in which appeals will be prejudiced.
§ The Lord AdvocateIt would not be practicable to record all cases. Summary cases are not recorded, and the Grant Committee, which considered the matter, took the view that no substantial injustice could be sustained as a result of this situation.