He announced that the case would not be dropped; there was a history of violence between the couple; the witness was competent and
compellable. The case was therefore listed for trial three weeks hence.
("It is a rule of evidence in civil cases, that no man is
compellable to testify against his interest, or to answer any question that will render him liable to an action, charge him with a debt, or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture."); id.
The accuseds claimed that this provision infringed their constitutional rights to a fair trial, including the right of arrested persons to remain silent, the right not to be compelled to make a confession, the right of accused persons to be presumed innocent, and the right not to be
compellable as a witness against oneself.
It operated upon the "conscience of the wrongdoer." The Chancery is a Court of Conscience, and to purge a guilty conscience it was first necessary that the wrongdoer should redress the harm done, as far as that was possible and
compellable (ibid at 22).
compellable by law, has paid money which the defendant was
"He is a
compellable witness," he said, after an application for his attendance by barrister, Ivan McAteer.
"But because of the husband and wife relationship, Mr Mullany will be a competent witness but not a
compellable one.
Section 189 of the CCRA, supra note 29 sets out that the Correctional Investigator is not a competent or
compellable witness in legal proceedings, but this does not prevent the use of the reports as evidence.
The first sexual history provisions in the Code were not especially useful for protecting women's equality in the criminal trial process, since they made the complainant a
compellable witness at the voir dire and relied on a general test of relevance to determine admissibility.