Section 94: Withdrawal of Counsel—The appellant was absent on the day of trial

94. Withdrawal of Counsel—The appellant was absent on the day of trial when his Counsel who had already warned him of his proposed withdrawal, unless properly instructed, was allowed by the Court to withdraw. The case was postponed because of the appellant’s absence and the trial resumed a few months later. After conviction, he complained that he had been deprived of a fair trial in that the trial Court had been wrong to allow Counsel to withdraw without seeking an explanation from the appellant and had also failed to inform the appellant of the withdrawal. HELD dismissing the complaints, the appellant had been warned in time of his Counsel’s proposed withdrawal; when his trial resumed, he was fully aware that he was no longer assisted by Counsel; constitutional rights of representation to secure a fair trial require inter alia a minimum of initiative on the part of accused parties wishing to avail themselves of those rights and that ex post facto complaints of breaches of those rights can turn out to be abusive, particularly where there has been no miscarriage of justice. Allaghen v R (1984).