Num recente e not\u00e1vel julgamento por homic\u00eddio em que Gillian Frost (Departamento de Advocacia) foi encarregada de representar um dos arguidos, julgamento esse que resultou numa absolvi\u00e7\u00e3o, um dos aspectos mais inovadores do caso foi a utiliza\u00e7\u00e3o de um intermedi\u00e1rio para assistir o seu cliente.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The defendant in question had significant learning difficulties and was in grave risk of being left at an unfair disadvantage without specialised apoio<\/a> to help him understand and follow the proceedings. Application was made for this support and granted. In the following article Gillian explains the legal background to this developing area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Section 16(1) of the Youth Justice and Criminal<\/a> Provas<\/a> Act 1999 (the Act) made provision for the use of special measures in the case of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to facilitate the giving of their evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sec\u00e7\u00e3o 29 da referida lei permite a inquiri\u00e7\u00e3o de uma testemunha atrav\u00e9s de um intermedi\u00e1rio como uma das medidas especiais permitidas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A utiliza\u00e7\u00e3o de medidas especiais para os arguidos foi expressamente exclu\u00edda pelo artigo 16(1) da Lei. No entanto, uma altera\u00e7\u00e3o acrescentada pelo artigo 104 da Lei dos M\u00e9dicos Legistas e da Justi\u00e7a de 2009 alterou a Lei, inserindo o artigo 33BA. Parte da s.104 \u00e9 reproduzida abaixo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1) A presente sec\u00e7\u00e3o aplica-se a qualquer processo (quer num tribunal de magistrados quer no Tribunal da Coroa) contra uma pessoa por uma infra\u00e7\u00e3o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2) O Tribunal pode, a pedido do arguido, dar uma instru\u00e7\u00e3o nos termos da subsec\u00e7\u00e3o (3) se considerar que -<\/p>\n\n\n\n (a) that the condition is subsection (5) is or, as the case may be, the conditions<\/a> in subsection (6) are met in relation to the accused, and<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (b) que a dire\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 necess\u00e1ria para garantir ao arguido um processo equitativo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (3) Uma instru\u00e7\u00e3o nos termos da presente subsec\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 uma instru\u00e7\u00e3o que prev\u00ea que qualquer interrogat\u00f3rio do arguido seja realizado atrav\u00e9s de um int\u00e9rprete ou de outra pessoa aprovada pelo tribunal para efeitos da presente sec\u00e7\u00e3o (\u201cum intermedi\u00e1rio\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (4) A fun\u00e7\u00e3o de um intermedi\u00e1rio \u00e9 comunicar -<\/p>\n\n\n\n (a) Ao arguido, perguntas feitas ao arguido, e<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (b) \u00c0s pessoas que fa\u00e7am essas perguntas, as respostas dadas pelo arguido em resposta \u00e0s mesmas,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n e explicar as perguntas ou respostas na medida do necess\u00e1rio para permitir a sua compreens\u00e3o pelo arguido ou pela pessoa em causa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (5) Se o arguido tiver menos de 18 anos no momento da apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o do pedido, a condi\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 que a sua capacidade de participar efetivamente no processo como testemunha que presta depoimento oral em tribunal seja comprometida pelo seu n\u00edvel de capacidade intelectual ou de funcionamento social.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (6) Se o arguido tiver atingido a idade de 18 anos no momento da apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o do pedido, as condi\u00e7\u00f5es s\u00e3o as seguintes<\/p>\n\n\n\n (a) o arguido sofre de uma perturba\u00e7\u00e3o mental (na ace\u00e7\u00e3o do Mental Health Act 1983) ou tem uma defici\u00eancia significativa da intelig\u00eancia e da fun\u00e7\u00e3o social, e<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (b) O arguido estiver, por esse motivo, impossibilitado de participar efetivamente no processo como testemunha que presta depoimento oral em tribunal.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (7) Qualquer interrogat\u00f3rio do arguido em cumprimento de uma instru\u00e7\u00e3o nos termos do n.\u00ba 3 deve realizar-se na presen\u00e7a das pessoas que as normas de processo penal ou a instru\u00e7\u00e3o prevejam e em circunst\u00e2ncias em que<\/p>\n\n\n\n (a) O juiz ou ju\u00edzes (ou ambos) e os representantes legais que actuam no processo possam ver e ouvir o interrogat\u00f3rio do arguido e comunicar com o intermedi\u00e1rio, e<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (b) O j\u00fari (se existir) possa ver e ouvir o interrogat\u00f3rio do arguido, e<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n (c) Se houver dois ou mais arguidos no processo, cada um dos outros arguidos possa ver e ouvir o interrogat\u00f3rio do arguido.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Para efeitos da presente subsec\u00e7\u00e3o, n\u00e3o se deve ter em conta qualquer defici\u00eancia visual ou auditiva.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nonetheless, an application can succeed on the basis of the case of C v Sevenoaks Youth Court \u2013 EWHC 3088 (3\/11\/09), where an application was granted on behalf of a juvenile Defendant on a charge of assault. The case was heard in the High Court on an application for permission<\/a> to apply for judicial review. Paragraph 16 of the judgment of Openshaw J reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have already made clear that there is no statutory<\/a> power permitting the appointment of an intermediary for a Defendant, but there may be some procedural<\/a> power in the Criminal Procedure Rules. Criminal Procedure r 1.11 sets out the overriding objective to deal with criminal cases justly, which includes at (c) recognising the rights of a Defendant, particularly under art 6 of the European Convention<\/a> on Human Rights. Furthermore, the court\u2019s case management powers at r 3.10(b)(v) require the court to consider what arrangements are necessary to facilitate the participation of any person in the trial, including the Defendant. In an appropriate case this surely requires the appointment of an intermediary for the Defendant himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Represent\u00e1mos um arguido no que acreditamos ter sido a primeira utiliza\u00e7\u00e3o pr\u00e1tica de um arguido intermedi\u00e1rio num julgamento importante. Tratava-se de um julgamento por homic\u00eddio perante um juiz do Tribunal Superior. O caso envolvia tamb\u00e9m rapto, falso aprisionamento e pervers\u00e3o do curso da justi\u00e7a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was a six handed case. The fifth Defendant was our client who had limited abilities which we vontade<\/a> detail below (but included an IQ of 63). The intermediary sat in the Dock alongside the Defendant throughout the evidence relevant to him and went with him to the witness box when he testified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O julgamento foi complicado devido \u00e0 natureza \u201ccortante\u201d das defesas e foi levantada uma quest\u00e3o pelos co-r\u00e9us relativamente \u00e0 necessidade de um intermedi\u00e1rio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1) AVALIA\u00c7\u00c3O INICIAL PELA DEFESA<\/p>\n\n\n\n No nosso caso, o arguido, um homem de 36 anos, n\u00e3o tinha sido representado durante as suas duas primeiras entrevistas e n\u00e3o lhe tinha sido fornecido um intermedi\u00e1rio (o FME (m\u00e9dico da pol\u00edcia) concordou em testemunhar que teria recomendado um se soubesse do QI muito baixo do arguido).<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we read the answers given by the defendant in those police interviews we appreciated that the defendant was likely to struggle to give evidence on his own behalf at trial. He spoke of having a very bad memory during the interview<\/a>. When we met him he presented as vulnerable and slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aconselh\u00e1mos a obten\u00e7\u00e3o de um relat\u00f3rio psiqui\u00e1trico e de um relat\u00f3rio do psic\u00f3logo escolar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2) OS RELAT\u00d3RIOS<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reports we obtained showed that the Defendant would be able to stand<\/a> trial but that he did not have the capacity<\/a> to properly give evidence in normal court working procedure conditions. He would need regular breaks and he would need to be given information in extremely small packages. His concentration would be limited and breaks would be required to check that he understood the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neste caso, os relat\u00f3rios recomendavam especificamente a assist\u00eancia de um intermedi\u00e1rio. Os relat\u00f3rios foram notificados \u00e0 Coroa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The application for an intermediary has to be made expeditiously because if granted an appropriate intermediary has to be located and funding obtained. In our case the Prosecution<\/a> also obtained two medical reports. (At trial we called the Prosecution psychologist as a defence witness as she had been able to do more extensive testing of the Defendant). It was agreed that the Defendant had low level of verbal comprehension, low IQ and very poor short term memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Acusa\u00e7\u00e3o n\u00e3o se op\u00f4s ao uso de um intermedi\u00e1rio pelo Arguido. No entanto, tivemos de notificar os relat\u00f3rios aos co-arguidos, para que os seus advogados pudessem levantar as suas preocupa\u00e7\u00f5es.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Em princ\u00edpio, o douto juiz do julgamento concordou que um intermedi\u00e1rio deveria ser utilizado se e quando o arguido prestasse depoimento e para o assistir de uma forma mais geral durante o depoimento de outros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (4) ETAPAS AP\u00d3S O DEFERIMENTO DO PEDIDO<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Register of Approved Intermediaries is maintained by a Department of the Ministry of Justice. They assist in helping to find an appropriate intermediary. A period of liaison between the intermediary and \u201cclient\u201d is recommended so that they can establish a relationship. This may not always be a long period but ideally should be established by one or two interviews before trial and after the Intermediary has been provided with at least a Resumo<\/a> of the case and any interview Exhibits. The intermediary will normally be required to furnish an assessment of his own, written or oral, depending on the circumstances and time available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O financiamento do intermedi\u00e1rio para os arguidos \u00e9 efectuado atrav\u00e9s de um pedido de autoriza\u00e7\u00e3o pr\u00e9via \u00e0 comiss\u00e3o de servi\u00e7o jur\u00eddico. Devem ser apresentadas as tarifas dos intermedi\u00e1rios. A autoriza\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 para a avalia\u00e7\u00e3o antes do julgamento e para a participa\u00e7\u00e3o no julgamento. Jason Connolly, respons\u00e1vel pela pol\u00edtica do Minist\u00e9rio da Justi\u00e7a, ajudou-nos a fornecer informa\u00e7\u00f5es como os C\u00f3digos de Pr\u00e1tica e \u00c9tica dos Intermedi\u00e1rios Registados e as suas taxas de remunera\u00e7\u00e3o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (4) QUEST\u00d5ES DE JULGAMENTO<\/p>\n\n\n\n Havia 4 quest\u00f5es a tratar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1) Era necess\u00e1rio estabelecer as \u201cregras b\u00e1sicas\u201d para que o intermedi\u00e1rio pudesse desempenhar a sua tarefa com um m\u00ednimo de perturba\u00e7\u00e3o do desenrolar do processo. O nosso intermedi\u00e1rio fez algumas observa\u00e7\u00f5es ao tribunal (na aus\u00eancia do j\u00fari) sobre a forma como encarava o seu papel. O intermedi\u00e1rio aconselhou o advogado a evitar duplas negativas e cl\u00e1usulas m\u00faltiplas e a procurar fazer perguntas curtas. O intermedi\u00e1rio discutiu o procedimento a ser adotado para indicar ao Juiz que o R\u00e9u precisava de um intervalo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2) Que indica\u00e7\u00f5es (ou orienta\u00e7\u00f5es) devem ser dadas ao j\u00fari relativamente \u00e0 fun\u00e7\u00e3o do \u201cfuncion\u00e1rio\u201d visto no banco dos r\u00e9us com o arguido.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The learned trial Judge made some introductory remarks when the jury were first made aware of the intermediary\u2019s presence. Later on in the trial the trial Judge circulated to counsel a proposed statement to be given to the jury in relation to the intermediary assisting the defendant in the witness box. This set out the psychologist\u2019s findings and recommendation for an intermediary. The jury were also told that not all parties accepted that evidence but the Judge had allowed the intermediary on the basis that he had to ensure a fair trial. The jury were told that the Barristers<\/a> had been advised as to how they should ask questions (eg avoiding double negatives). The jury were told the intermediary would indicate if he considered the defendant did not understand a question. The jury were told that they would have to decide relevant matters themselves, regardless of the Judge\u2019s decision that an intermediary should be allowed and regardless of the presence of the intermediary in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (3) At what stage to deal with the Issue of the need for an Intermediary. Each case will vary depending on for example: number of defendants; whether the defendant is to give evidence or just have assistance in the dock during the prosecution evidence; whether there is agreement<\/a> or not as to the necessity for the intermediary. In our case the need for an intermediary was raised pre-trial but the substantive argument developed during the course of the trial. The Judge, in order to ensure a fair trial for our defendant, allowed the intermediary to be in the dock. That helped counsel as the intermediary could note on what occasions the defendant had difficulty understanding<\/a> and we could assist him later in conference about<\/a> those parts of the evidence. Before the defendant gave evidence (but after defendants 1 to 4 had given evidence) the role of the intermediary was canvassed further with counsel and the Judge ruled on how he would direct the jury. Interestingly our defence experts were interposed during the course of the defendant\u2019s evidence but the learned Judge had made a statement to the jury before he gave his evidence. The intermediary was able to clarify the meaning of words or to reassure the defendant about issues as they arose. A brief reference was made to the jury as to the presence of the intermediary in the dock. In our case the intermediary was not present for the jury selection, opening speech and initial witnesses that did not affect our defendant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (4) What further instruction (if any) was needed in the summing up? The learned trial Judge directed the jury that the defendant had been allowed the assistance of an intermediary in case there was any difficulty in him understanding the questions asked and the case put against him by the prosecution or other defendants. The jury were told that the extent of any impairment of his understanding was a assunto<\/a> of dispute and that it was a matter for them whether he had real difficulties. The intermediary was allowed in case there were difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The choice of whether or not to call a defendant to give evidence is sometimes a difficult one to make. In some cases it may be that medical evidence for a vulnerable person would be sufficient to avoid any adverse inference from not giving evidence. However, there may be times when counsel\u2019s experience is such that they believe that the calling of a defendant is essential. The use of an intermediary is a course of action which can help that vulnerable defendant to feel more relaxed because he knows there is someone who can intervene if he has difficulty understanding a question. The intermediary assists counsel because in a case of a poor memory the defendant will forget what he needs to tell counsel by the time of the next break in the case. He can indicate to the intermediary immediately who can make a note of the point and inform counsel. Special measures for witnesses have been available for some time (prosecution and defence witnesses) and now there is the availability of at least this special measure for vulnerable defendants. As mentioned above, the statutory framework is not yet implemented. There is much to be done, partly to ensure there will be sufficient registered intermediaries available. Hopefully all those defendants that require an intermediary will be able to have one. It will be important to be aware of the possibility as soon as practicable. Trying to match a registered intermediary that is local to the relevant court will be important in keeping<\/a> down costs. The longer the time it takes<\/a> to obtain the funding for an intermediary the harder it may be to find an appropriate intermediary who is sufficiently local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GILLIAN FROST (Advogada, Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Um artigo semelhante, escrito por Gillian Frost, foi publicado na revista Criminal Bar Quarterly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Please note: This article was originally published on our previous website and is provided for general information purposes only. While it reflects the legal position at the time of writing, the law may have changed since publication. For up-to-date advice tailored to your circumstances, please contact<\/a> our team<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9300","knowledge-base","type-knowledge-base","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tA lei<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Sec\u00e7\u00e3o 33BA Exame do arguido atrav\u00e9s de um intermedi\u00e1rio<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Infelizmente, esta altera\u00e7\u00e3o ainda n\u00e3o entrou em vigor e, segundo se sabe, ainda n\u00e3o foi fixada uma data de aplica\u00e7\u00e3o para o artigo 104\u00ba, uma vez que ainda \u00e9 necess\u00e1rio um volume consider\u00e1vel de trabalho preparat\u00f3rio.<\/p>\n\n\n\nO nosso caso<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As etapas pr\u00e1ticas<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
(3) O PEDIDO<\/p>\n\n\n\nConclus\u00e3o<\/h4>\n\n\n\n