No Case to Answer
Fleetwoodmix asks some very pertinent questions; being a Scouser in a suit, I have a little experience of the legal system !!!
I'll try and provide some answers, as best I can.
No case to answer: The fundamental basis of the legal system is that it is for the prosecution to prove the case which they bring to court. This means that when all the evidence has been laid before the trial judge(s), the defence can call upon the judge(s) to decide whether the evidence has been sufficient to require the defence to answer the charges, or the case is defective in such a way as to make it inappropriate for the defendant to be at any further risk of conviction. In other words, the "No case to answer" submission can be upheld if the evidence is so manifestly unreliable, or has been discredited to such an extent that a reasonable panel, properly directed as to the law, could not find the defendant guilty of the offences charged. If the court feels, however, that the evidence received so far is sufficient to satisfy the test noted above, then the "No case to answer" submission would fail and the trial would progress to the next stage, as has happened.
From what I saw in the first week, the prosecution case looked far from convincing; you can judge for yourself from the postings on pprune.
The hierarchy: Well that's not for me to say, thankfully I left the Service over 10 years ago. It is interesting to note, however, that the very senior wheel who determined this should go to CM is now running the Benevolent Fund as a civilian, and is therefore out of reach. Also, Spot's former SATCO. in my opinion, failed in her duty of care towards one of her staff members.
Lessons learned? The plethora of orders and instructions being introduced as a direct result of this accident says it all. RAF controllers should, in future, be very wary about signing up to a contract on the R/T that exposes them to trial by CM. Knowing and applying the rules no longer seems sufficient to guarantee innocence.
JSP 318A: I've not read it for years, so can't help.
Terrain clearance: You and I both know that under RIS, it is, and always has been, the pilots responsibility.
More from Dick and the boys later.
Micky
Last edited by PPRuNe Radar; 22nd Feb 2003 at 16:53.