Day 292 - 01 Nov 96 - Page 03
1 I do not really know, but I just think we all have some
2 idea of how long the process takes yesterday when
3 Mr. Rampton said that his closing speech was not yet ready,
4 but that he was hoping to have it ready by 22nd November.
5 Obviously, that is four months after we broke up and he has
6 a great deal of experience on how to prepare a closing
7 speech and the structure of it, plus he has a whole legal
8 team helping him with the preparations who are all familiar
9 with the issues in the case.
10
11 Then he says that with the massive document that he was
12 going to hand in, he still might take 10 days. So I think
13 that is probably a good indication of how long the process
14 takes and how long it is likely to be in court. But,
15 obviously, because we have not got any previous experience
16 of closing speeches ----
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There are really about nine or ten topics,
19 so Mr. Rampton is allowing himself about a day on each.
20 I would have thought, whatever Mr. Rampton thought he would
21 take, if he added another three days for interruptions by
22 me, that is probably as realistic as he can be.
23
24 I will tell you what I have in mind, and I think it might
25 be best if I do actually give formal directions on it,
26 probably on Monday morning, when I have had a chance to see
27 how Mr. Morris has gone today and can sit down over the
28 weekend and re-assess the whole matter.
29
30 What I have in mind at the moment, because I also actually
31 think it would positively help you if you have some time
32 strictures, as indeed it did with cross-examination, I
33 believe, on the few occasions when I did give time limits,
34 the idea I have at the moment, and I am going to say it now
35 because part of it affects Mr. Rampton, and it is that I
36 think if I allowed you two days each on what I see as the
37 less copious issues of recycling and waste, food poisoning,
38 advertising, publication, that is a day each
39
40 MS. STEEL: Sorry?
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL:. Publication, two days. That is a day each,
43 because a lot of the comment you might want to make, for
44 instance about reliability of witnesses, is common, but you
45 are in separate positions there. Counterclaim the same.
46
47 But then say nutrition and employment are rather larger
48 issues and allow three days for each of those. If you are
49 shorter on one topic, then you have earned yourself to be
50 quite happy to consider that you might have more on
51 another.
52
53 I have this extra thought in my mind: I expressed a view
54 yesterday afternoon about reading out parts of transcripts,
55 and I do not see any alternative to that view. What occurs
56 to me might be useful is that insofar as you have
57 particular parts of transcript you want to refer me to --
58 and you will remember what I said about having a list of
59 days and pages, lines if you can get them, but that is much
60 less important, days and pages down one side of the page
