Jump to content

Old court witness summons


Evil Sid

Recommended Posts

As I read it if you do not turn up to give evidence then you will be fined £20 pounds. :shock:

 

courtappearance.jpg

 

This was for my late father in laws brother to appear as a witness. No idea what the crime was though. I have blanked out his name as I don't want to suddenly find myself having to answer any awkward questions. :unsure::unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My understanding of recognizance (which strangely enough I was reading about the other day) is just that Evils ie a conditional obligation which has to be undertaken by a person before a court and judge. If you do your duty and turn up the 'recognizance' is said to have been 'recognized' and is then subject to a 'defeasnace' so the obligation (in this case £20) is then avoided as the person bound has done the particular act such as appearinging in court on a particular day, or keeping the peace etc etc.

 

They are also apparently often encountered with regards to bail in criminal cases. By filing a bail bond with the court, the defendant is usually released from imprisonment pending a trial or appeal. If no bail has been set, the defendants are released "on their own recognizance".

 

But the bit I don't quite understand is why it says at the top 'Notice of Recongnizance to Witness Bound Over'

 

So now I've had to google and it says

 

Recongnizance....A contract between a court and an individual, where the individual agrees to carry out some action, or behave in a certain way, or forfeit a some of money. For example, a recognizance is involved when a person is 'bound over'

 

Bound over....For example, 'bound over to be of good behaviour and to keep the peace'. If a person is bound over after conviction he or she is released, subject to a recognizance (see: Recognizance). The effect is that the offender's good behaviour is assured by the threat of forfeit of money.

 

So I'm confused now.. ah well nothing new there but law is just so very interesting even if I don't always understand it :lol:

 

What would the equivalen of £20 in 1954 be today as it seems a large amoung for the time? Maybe it was a very serious court case....

 

You know what will happen now don't you... we'll all be googling Edward Hugh Morgan, 6 Dec 1954 and Justice of the Peace City of Liverpool :lol::lol::wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...