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matter should ordinarily be left to the discretion of the Assize Judge or Chairman of Quarter Sessions.
13. Any" outstanding charge" in respect of an offence committed in England or Wales which the prosecutor does not wish taken into consideration should, however, be included in the list, and in such cases the Court should be informed of the fact that the prosecutor does not desire the outstanding charge" taken into consideration and the reason therefor.
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14. A copy also of the list should (whenever possible) be left at the prison for the prisoner a reasonable time before the trial in order that the prisoner may know what "outstanding charges
" will be mentioned to the Court in the event of his conviction, and so may not be taken by surprise. It is not, however, intended that the prisoner should sign the list or that he should be asked by the Police whether he admits the various charges or desires them taken into consideration in the sentence. The list should contain the charges alleged against the prisoner, and it will be for him to inform the Court whether he admits any of them and desires them taken into consideration or not. Care should, however, be taken by the Police that no charge is entered in the list unless there is good ground for believing that it can be proved against him.
15. The Court will not, of course, be precluded from taking into consideration "outstanding charges" in the absence of a list or by reason of their omission therefrom; but the above arrangement should be followed as far as possible.
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16. Application should not, without special reasons, be made to the Secretary of State for an order for a prisoner's production in Court for the determination of an outstanding charge" committed in another jurisdiction if proceedings against him are pending elsewhere, since, if the prisoner is committed for trial, the standing charge can be taken into consideration (if he consents) in the sentence passed by the Court of trial; and if he is not committed for trial, the slight delay does not justify the expenditure of time and money in conveying him from one place to another and back. If, however, the "outstanding charge" has been committed in the same jurisdiction as that in which his trial will take place, the Secre- tary of State will generally be ready to order the prisoner's production in order that he may be also committed for trial in respect of the outstanding charge" and may be indicted in the same Court upon both charges.
17. When, however, a prisoner has in fact been committed for trial at two different courts, it is generally undesirable for the court at which he is first tried to take into consideration the charge or charges on which he actually stands committeed for trial elsewhere: and it will usually be better for no outstanding charges " to be mentioned in the first court, but for the later court to take into consideration, in the event of his conviction before it, all charges then outstanding against him, if he admits them to that court.
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Isle of Man Cases.
18. Offences committed in the Isle of Man may be taken into con- sideration by Courts of Assize or Quarter Sessions in England or Wales in the same way as other offences committed in England. Wherever this is done, the Isle of Man Police should be informed. If the Authorities of the Island express a desire that an offence committed there should not be taken into consideration, the offence should not be included in the list or brought to the notice of the Court in England or Wales.
19. The Superior Courts in the Isle of Man will be ready in suitable cases to take into consideration offences committed in England or Wales.
Scottish Cases.
20. The Scottish Authorities do not desire that Courts in England or Wales should take into consideration charges pending in Scotland and, if such a Court were to do so, the Secretary of State is advised that this would be no bar to subsequent proceedings in Scotland in respect of the same offences. Outstanding Scottish charges should accordingly not be included in the list or brought to the notice of a Court in England or Wales. There is, of course, no objection to the Police informing the Scottish Police of the fact that a prisoner, accused of an offence in Scotland, is being prosecuted for offences committed in England or Wales, or of the result of the trial.
Further proceedings on
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outstanding charges " which have been taken into consideration.
21. It appears from the judgment in the case of Syres (paragraph 1) that there is nothing in law to prevent proceedings being subsequently taken on any "outstanding charge" which has been "taken into con- sideration" in a sentence. But a charge already taken into considera- tion should not be further prosecuted without very strong reason. There may be cases in which subsequent proceedings are justified, as, for example, when the prisoner's conviction is quashed on appeal on a ground which would not apply to the "outstanding charges" that were taken into consideration, or for some reason in connection with the restitution of stolen property. Whenever subsequent proceedings are taken, care should be taken to bring fully before the Court the facts with regard to the first trial and sentence.
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· Outstanding charges" against prisoners already convicted.
22. The object of the Court taking into consideration "outstand- ing charges" is to prevent, so far as the interests of justice permit, the re-arrest of a prisoner on the expiration of his sentence. If it becomes known to the Police that a man against whom they desire to prefer a charge has been convicted and is serving a sentence of im- prisonment, application should generally be made to the Secretary of State to order his production in Court (see page 11), as it is in the interest of justice that the charge should be tried as speedily as possible
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