THE REPUBLIC v. EUGENE BAFFOE-BONNIE & 4 OTHERS
2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- GYAESAYOR, JA (PRESIDING)
- A. LOVELACE-JOHNSON, JA
- TANKO AMADU, JA
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This case concerns an appeal to stay criminal proceedings in the High Court involving the 2nd applicant and others. The High Court initially denied the application, leading to an appeal on the grounds of potential injustice. The appellate court held that refusing to tender the entire dispatch book did not constitute an exceptional circumstance to warrant halting the trial. The appeal was dismissed, and the trial was ordered to continue.
GYAESAYOR, JA
This is an application for stay of proceedings of the criminal trial in the High Court involving the 2nd applicant and 4 others.
The application to stay proceedings was first heard by the trial judge of the High Court who refused to grant the said application and has since proceeded to continue with the trial. In his ruling, the learned judge ruled that the application is not based on national security concerns as alleged. He also dismissed the contention that the document could not be tendered for want of discovery. He referred to the Supreme Court decision per Adinyira JSC in a similar application involving these same parties in which she said “failure to disclose a material before tendering it in evidence, does not render the material inadmissible but should result in an adjournment, to enable the accused to study the evidence or material”
Paragraph 18 of the affidavit in opposition which stands unchallenged reads “That in answer to paragraph 13 of the affidavit in support, the trial judge adjourned the case to enable the applicant and other accused persons study “exhibit K” in accordance with the Supreme court decision on the matter”.
In the view of the trial judge the real reason for the objection is to get the prosecution to tender the whole of the dispatch book instead of tendering only the relevant page that the Attorney-General sought to tender in evidence. To him tendering the whole book will “occasion the giving of cumulative evidence” and for that matter exercised his discretion in that matter.
Stay of proceedings when granted brings a trial to a halt and for that matter there should be exceptional circumstances to justify the grant of such an application.
In the arguments before this court learned counsel for applicant argued that to avoid a miscarriage of justice the entire dispatch book should be tendered because it could contain matters which would operate in their favour. In reply, the learned Chief State Attorney argued that the only relevant document relating to this case is what they were seeking to tender and that it would not adversely affect the case of the applicant. The learned trial judge rightly found the submission of applicant as speculative.
We have noticed that the prosecution also argued that there are several known legal means by which counsel for applicant can get the whole dispatch book admitted into evidence if he is indeed desirous of doing so. It is not our duty here to tell him what to do for he m