C
E
F
→
K
K
L
M
N
P
Q
R
T
U
S.C 224
092
S
JL/39/4
and the user both discouraged and exasperated. Mr. Donnelly has complained that the lenience accorded to the plaintiff both in the matter which he was permitted to adduce and in the manner which he was permitted to deal with his own witnesses arounted to an injustice upon his client. Yr. Khan would scarcely agree with that for it was clear that he could rot, at various points when he was checked, understand the reason why he ves being thus circunscribed. Perhaps it is surprising that this action has proceeded as fer as it did, but at all events the issues did come to pleading and were joined upon the pleadings.
The plaintiff asked for a jury trial and he was by the rules entitled to have a jury. The jury in this case have, over the past three veeks, been as it were a captive audience to something in the nature of a cherade in which passionate conviction and emotional sincerity have been made to play the roles of fact and proof. Despite the fact that his pleading of malice hinged on the proof of corrupt conspiracies involving the defendant, he came to court in effect armed only with the fact of the defendant's command a bundle of subpoenas and his own heersay allegations against the defendant. None of the witnesses had given him a proof of evidence beforehand and from in early stage he made it apparent that he was not expecting any of them to support his story in its essential particulars. That has emerged in the and has been close to on abuse of the process of the court. It may be, es Fr. Donnelly suggests, that the court has by undue passivity contributed to that. The pleadings in this final form were, however, permitted to advance to trial without further objection and the particulars of malice alleged admitted of the introduction of evidence of a very diffuse and general kind such as is frequently associated with conspiracy. The plaintiff was not only unrepresented but was himself somewhat confused between the legitimate issues in this case and facts and issues relevant in previous 'actions; he was moreover equipped with a variety of documents acquired over years of campaigning in and out of the courts, all with some tomous connection with his central grievance, so that it was difficult to be sure, until the last witness had testified, that something put to one or other of those witnesses, so speculatively called, might not prove relevant to some legitimate issue before the court if latitude were given to the plaintiff in the manner that he dealt with the witness end in the matter adduced from him. I will not say that that latitude vas not great - perhaps extreme lir. Donnelly did not hesitate to stigmatize it as unparalleled. Be that as it may, it will be something gained if the effect of that latituae has in the end been to bring into clear focus the wholly insubstantial nature of this claim against the defendant for libel in the present action.
I somewhat regret that what I have to say will not be left to the jury to say, but even if the verdict I propose were to be returned by them, I doubt that it would much relieve the plaintiff's conviction that he still continues to fight against powers and principalities or that it would convince him that he has not been justified in pursuing a clain in defamation. He has given abundant proof in court in the course of this trial of the extent to which he is prepared to go, in order to rake any person or body hostage to his obsession. From the outset I have hoped that the verdict upon the plaintiff's closin would be left to the body which he specifically chose and have no doubt that the result which is coming about will be deeply disappointing to the plaintiff, but the principles are not in doubt and my duty is clear. I am satisfied that there is no sufficient evidence of malice to put before the jury and that issue must be withdraw from then. Although by a late amendment the defence of absolute privilege vas claimed, no argument has been addressed to ne on this plea and I make no ruling upon it. From
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
P
0
R
S
T
V
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.