R v Gray and Stuart-Cross-examination of Dennis Brown PDF

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This details my list of cross examination questions for the witness-confirming or undermining disputed and important details of the case from whereabouts, actions, weather, witnesses, clothing colour, time and location of the scene....

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R v Gray and Stuart Cross-examination of Dennis Brown When you are defending (XX) you are representing Tom Gray (not Richie Stuart), so you should prepare to deal ONLY with the charges of Arson (Criminal Damage by Fire) and Assaulting a Police Officer. This reflects the typical position where there are co-defendants and two advocates are required because, for example, there may be inconsistent defences. What was said live in court: Brown When I smelled the burning I looked in the upper deck mirror. I could see the youth in grey leaning over the seats that I later found to have burn marks on them. ^This is inconsistent with the witness statement made with the police. Get witness to admit the inconsistency orally. Remind the witness of the circumstances in which the earlier statement was made. A moment ago, you said you smelled the burning and you saw the youth in grey leaning over the seats that later you found to have burn marks on them, didn’t you? You have previously said that you saw the group of youths, not mentioning the youth in grey, haven’t you? Do you remember making a statement after the day of the event? Usher, could the witness be given the copy of his witness statement? Thank You. Is that your witness statement? Could you turn to the first page? Could you look to paragraph 3, second line down and look at the sentence beginning ‘I glanced up to the word shouting? Could you read the sentence to yourself? So, Mr Brown a moment ago you told the court Tom leaning over the seats? What do you now say? Mr Brown, you changed the version of events because you only got hold of Tom, didn’t you? You assumed Tom to be the offender, didn’t you? You suspected he was the offender because he was the only one left, isn’t it? You thought someone should be held responsible for the burning of the seats, didn’t you? Surely Mr Brown you can’t be suggesting your memory is better now than when you made the witness statement the day after the incident, isn’t it?

Mr Brown you had the opportunity to make amendments to your witness statements, didn’t you?

1. Mr Brown, you are a bus driver for the Blue Triangle Bus Company, aren’t you? 2. Mr Brown, you were driving on the route 248 double decker on 4 th January 2021, weren’t you? 3. You were driving through Romford towards the town centre, weren’t you? 4. At about 3pm, four youths boarded the bus at Riverdale Road, isn’t it? 5. They wore their hoodies up, didn’t they? 6. You could not see their faces clearly, could you? 7. The youths went to the upper deck of the bus, didn’t they? 8. You took a glance in the upper deck mirror to check their whereabouts on the upper deck, didn’t you? 9. Later, you saw some passengers come down, didn’t you? 10.You took a glance in the mirror again whilst driving the bus, didn’t you? 11. It was only a fleeting glance because you were focusing on driving the bus, wasn’t it? 12.You saw youths opening the windows, didn’t you? 13.You started to smell burning, didn’t you? 14.You heard shouting, didn’t you? 15.You were distracted with driving and glancing, weren’t you? 16.Isn’t correct to say that you could not identify who did what at the rear seats? [introduce previous inconsistent statement] 17.At this point, how many passengers were upstairs? 18.You went on to stop at Romford Market Place, didn’t you? 19.Only three of the youths got away down the stairs, isn’t it? 20.You got hold of one of youths, didn’t you? 21.It was Tom Gray, wasn’t it? 22.You grabbed Tom Gray aggressively, didn’t you? 23.What did you say to the youth? 24.It is usual for youths with hoodies up to board the bus, isn’t it? 25.You had your bad experiences in the past, didn’t you? 26.Therefore, you had your suspicions, didn’t you? 27.You kept your eye on those youths, didn’t you? 28.You assumed the worst when it became frantic, didn’t you? 29.Wouldn’t it be correct to say you acted in frustration on your own accord? 30.You broke the company policy when you left the driver cab? 31.The tops of the backs of the rear seats were found burnt, weren’t they? 32.You proceeded to call to police, didn’t you? 33.You didn’t find a lighter on Tom Gray, did you? 34.You didn’t see him lighting up the bus seats, did you? 35.You didn’t have a clear view of the situation on the upper deck, did you? 36.So you couldn’t have been sure that Tom Gray was the one who lit up the seats, could you? 37.Tom Gray was arrested by the police officer afterwards, wasn’t he? 38.Tom Gray resisted the police by pushing him in the chest, didn’t he?

Examination in Chief of Dennis Brown 1. Who do you work for? 2. Where were you on 4th January 2021? 3. What bus do you drive? 4. Which route were you driving that day? 5. What happened around 3pm? 6. Were you able to see their faces? 7. Where did they go after they boarded? 8. How did you see what was happening at that time? 9. Could you describe what the four youths were wearing? 10.Usher, could you kindly give the witness the document Exhibit DB1? 11. Who made it? 12.When did you make it? 13.Is it to scale? 14.Your Honour, now could this be used as Exhibit 1? 15.Mr Brown, could you please hold up the exhibit? 16.Could you please describe the drawings in detail? 17.Mr Brown, could you please point to where the youths were seated? 18.What happened after the youth went to the upper deck? (Few people came down the stairs) 19.How many passengers came down from the upper deck? 20.Where did they go afterwards? 21.Could you hear what was shouted? 22.What are your past experiences with youths? 23.Where were the windows opened? 24.What could you smell? 25.What do you mean by a burning smell? 26.The youths moved around the upper deck?...