The January 2015 McCanns v Amaral hearing on the facts - what did the Portuguese Court of Appeal say about the facts?

by **Tony Bennett** 13.12.14 23:11

It appears that there will be another 'final' day's hearing in January in the six-year-long running saga of McCanns -v- Amaral libel & damages trial.

It would also appear that this is for the judge to read out a list of the facts.

It seems that Portuguese custom in judgments is to read out a list of the facts the court considers proved, and then to move on to the conclusions to be drawn from those facts and, using available law and case precedent, issue judgment.

But we already have in this case a very far-reaching judgment of the Court of Appeal (October 2010) which the current judge will have to follow.

Moreover:

1. This Appeal Court judgment - reproduced below - was fully upheld by Portugal's Supreme Court in March 2011

AND

2. Both the Appeal Court and Supreme Court judgments quoted extensively from the European Convention on Human Rights and judgments by the European Court of Human Rights - which apply to all court cases in Portugal.

The judge who must rule in the case of McCanns v Amaral is bound by those facts and judgments.

So here (slightly snipped) are the facts found by the Court of Appeal, and their judgment:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEAL IN LISBON

20 October 2010 - Case of McCanns v Amaral, Guerra e Paz, TVi etc.

In the case of:

The applicants:                  Kate Marie Healy McCann

                                           Gerald Patrick McCann

                                           Madeleine Beth McCann

                                           Sean Michael McCann, and

                                           Amelie Eve McCann

Against the defendants:    Goncalo de Sousa Amaral

                                           Guerra e Paz

                                           Valentim de Carvalho of Filmes, Audioivisas, SA,

                                           and

                                           Televisao Independente

Claim Number 60000/09.8 TVLSB-A. L 1

Injunction Proceedings - Appeal of the Defendants

B. The publication of ‘The Truth About A Lie’

On 24 July 2008, the defendant Dr Goncalo Amaral first published his book, through publishers Guerra e Paz.

In that book, Dr Amaral put forward the following hypothesis:

That the child Madeleine McCann died in the Ocean Club apartment G5A in Vila da Luz, on the evening of 3 May 2007
That the McCanns and their friends fabricated an abduction
That Dr Kate Healy and Dr Gerald McCann are suspected of involvement in the concealment of their daughter’s body
That the death my have been the outcome of a tragic accident
That there are indications of neglect of the care and safety of the children.

Dr Amaral’s book was published in four editions by the end of July, a further nine by the end of August, and another 12 by end of September. Each edition was of around 10,000 copies. [Thus, in all, around 250,000 copies were printed]. At the time of our decision, the book had been sold out at practically all points of sale.

When the book was published, Dr Amaral gave an interviews to the newspaper Correia da Manha, published on 24 July 2008. In that interview, he explained his analysis of the case. He also gave interviews later to all other media that asked him for an interview, each time defending the book’s thesis.

C. The publication of Dr Amaral’s book in 28 countries and all over the internet

At the beginning of May 2009, Dr Amaral published his book in France, this time under the title: ‘Maddie, L’Enquete interdite: Les revelations du commissaire portugais charge de l’enquete [The revelations of the Portuguese co-ordinator of the investigation].

Dr Amaral also gave countless interviews to several media in France, including the one that was published by Le Parisien newspaper in both its paper and online editions. In those interviews, Dr Amaral continued to promote his hypothesis on the case. The book’s French edition was, and continues to be, systematically and prolifically promoted on the internet, for example on the following websites: [a long list of websites follows] .

Between the date when the Portuguese edition was published [24 July 2008] and the date of the book’s French edition [May 2009], Televisao Independente (TVI) broadcast a TV programme produced by Valentim de Carvalho for the company Filmes, Audiovisuais, SA [FASA], who hold the copyright of the documentary.

The first transmission of that programme was on 13 April 2009, the second on 12 May 2009. This programme was essentially based on the contents of Dr Amaral’s book: ‘Maddie: The Truth About A Lie’. In that documentary, Dr Amaral appears and continues to advance his theory (a) that Madeleine is no longer alive (b) that her death occurred within their Ocean Club apartment, and (c) that her parents, the McCanns, concealed their daughter’s body.

At least 2,200,000 people viewed the first screening of this programme.

At the end of April 2009, a DVD of the programme was made, with the following title and subtitle: ‘Maddie - The Truth About A Lie: A powerful documentary based on the best-seller ‘The Truth About A Lie’ by Goncalo Amaral. Already, 75,000 copies of this DVD have been distributed for sale. The DVD is published on FASA’s website.

D. A profile of Dr Goncalo Amaral: the man

Biographies of the defendant, Dr Goncalo Amaral, began to appear on the internet. These biographies of him portrayed him as an honest, well-organised, clubbable man who was also interested in political issues.

His C.V. showed that he had studied engineering, then graduated in law and criminology, and had been an officer and then inspector in the Judiciary Police for 27 years. He is aware of the significance and scope involved in the archiving of a report into an investigation. He is also aware of who has power over an investigation: that is, who has power to open or re-open an investigation and, if so, under what circumstances. Dr Amaral is also aware of the definition of defamation and slander. He has experience of what it means to have been removed from a criminal investigation. He is, then, an adult with ample professional experience.

SNIPPED

Dr Amaral was the Coordinating Inspector of the ‘Maddie case’ investigations from 3 May 2007. In this capacity he acted under the auspices of Inquiry No. 201/07/0 GALGS of the Lagos regional office of the Ministry of Justice - until 2 October 2007, when he was withdrawn from the case. He formally retired from the police service on 2 October 2007. By the time he was withdrawn from acting as the head of the Maddie investigation, Dr Amaral knew that his investigators had formulated their opinion that Madeleine McCann had died in the apartment, that a simulation of abduction had occurred, and that her parents were suspected of concealing her body.

E. The contents of the Maddie investigation file are made available to the world on the internet

All the actions within the investigation that Dr Amaral reports in his book are documented within the investigation file. Not only that, but the investigation documents were also made available in electronic format, not only to the national media, but to international media. These media proceeded to divulge the contents of the reports and statements from the investigation file. This publication of the electronic reports naturally enabled knowledge of the facts of the investigation to be circulated. Public comments were made and soon there was universal discussion of the contents of the investigation file. Any individual in the world can have access to these facts and to the documents of the investigation which enabled the facts of the investigation to be verified. All of this was only a click on the mouse away.

The friends of the McCanns did not make themselves available in Portugal to attend a reconstruction [of the events of 3 May 2007]. This is all documented on pages 4,636 to 4,638 of Volume XII of the ‘Investigation Processos’ files, complied by the Prosecutor’s office.

Dr Amaral’s book was published, through other editors, in several countries, as well as in France, as we referred to above.

F. The various translations of Dr Amaral’s book

The publications occurred as follows:

In Spain, September 2008, titled ‘Maddie - La verdad de la mentira’
This was distributed in the Spanish/Castilian language in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries
In Denmark, in November 200, titled ‘Maddie - Sandheden on Lognem’.
This Danish edition was then published in the Nordic countries of Norway and Sweden
In Italy, December 2008, titled ‘Maddie - La Verita della Menzonga’.
That edition was distributed in Italian-speaking countries all over the world
In Holland, April 2009, titled ‘Maddie - De Waarheide Achter de Leugen’.
That was distributed in Dutch-speaking countries throughout the world
In Germany, in June 2009, with the tile: ‘Maddie - De Wahrheit uber die Luge’
This was also distributed in German-speaking countries, including Austria and Switzerland.
There is also an English version circulating on the internet, on the web site www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/PJ/TRANSLATIONS.htm , where a Portuguese version can also be found.

[NOTE: This is a complete list, in alphabetical order, of the countries in which Dr Amaral’s book has been published or distributed:

Andorra
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Bolivia
Chile
Cuba
Denmark
Ecuador
France
Germany
Guatemala
Holland
Honduras
Italy
Luxemburg
Mexico
Nicaragua
Norway
Paraguay
Peru
San Marino
Spain
Surinam
Sweden
Switzerland
Uruguay
Venezuela]

G. The McCanns and their friends refuse to attend a reconstruction of the events the day their daughter was reported missing

In the report of the Ministry of Justice archiving the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, we find these words:

“From the analysis of a set of the witness statements made during the investigation, it became obvious that there were important matters of fact that were not fully understood and analysed. These needed to be tested, examined and verified at the precise location of the actual events. That would have rendered it possible to establish the reason for the discrepancies, and even flat contradictions. The approved mechanism for such testing and analysis is to hold a reconstruction of the events of that night. However, despite the best efforts of both the Portuguese Judiciary Police and Attorney-General to hold such a reconstruction, it was not possible to carry this out [because of the lack of co-operation from the McCanns and their friends.

H. The findings of two British sniffer dogs

In that very same report, the results of tests performed by the sniffer dogs ‘Eddie’ (a dog that was specially trained to signal cadaver odour) and ‘Keela’ (specially trained to detect the presence of human blood) are mentioned.

‘Eddie’ marked (or signalled) cadaver odour at the following locations:

in the McCann couple’s bedroom in Apartment 5A (from where little Madeleine disappeared), in the area next to the wardrobe;
in an area next to the living room window that has direct access to a street below - behind a sofa
and in an area of the garden of the same apartment.

The dog ‘Eddie’ again marked the signal of cadaver odour at these additional locations:

at the ‘Vista do Mar’ villa, which was rented by the McCann couple after Madeleine’s disappearance, in the area of a wardrobe that contained a soft toy that had belonged to the little girl;
on clothing that belonged to one of the applicants in these proceedings, Kate Healy, Madeleine’s mother;
on the outside of the Renault Scenic vehicle with the registration plate number 59-DA-27, which was rented by the Mccann couple after the disappearance (next to the driver’s door), and
on that vehicle’s key/card.

The dog ‘Keela’ detected residues of human blood at these locations:

in the same living room of Apartment 5A, which had already been signalled by ‘Eddie’;
after the floor tiles that had been signalled in the first inspection had been removed, she again signalled the spot from where the floor tiles had been removed;
on the lower part of the window curtain that had already been signalled by ‘Eddie’ before, and
in the door storage compartment on the driver’s side of the vehicle, i.e. which contained the car key/card.

The dogs’ indications cannot be used as evidence in court, but in many previous cases, they have provided invaluable help in terms of the collection of evidence for Scotland Yard and the Federal Bureau of investigation, with positive results.

Later on, these indications were not corroborated by the British forensic laboratory that was selected for testing the blood samples by the investigation, but they were sufficient for the detectives to pull in the McCanns, the applicants, for questioning as suspects (‘arguidos’).

I. The Portuguese authorities bent over backwards to help the McCanns and their friends to attend a reconstruction - but they still refused

Having acquired this information [from the cadaver dogs], and cross-referencing the dogs’ alerts with other information available to the investigation , the Judiciary Police and the Ministry of Justice tried to perform a reconstruction [of the events of 3 May 2007, the day that Madeleine was reported missing]. They tried all manner of ways to achieve such a reconstruction, but due to the McCann couple and their friends not making themselves available, and not showing up, this valuable investigative tool could not be performed. Therefore the facts about the events of 3 May 2007 remain to be clarified.

Indeed, the final report of the Attorney-General’s Department conforms that despite the relevant national authorities taking all possible measures to enable them to travel to Portugal, the McCanns and their friends simply chose not to attend. Their motives for refusing are not known. They raised many objections to attending for the proposed reconstruction. Clarification of their reasons for objecting were clarified many times, and they were given opportunity after opportunity so far as the date of the reconstruction and the arrangements for them to travel to Portugal were concerned. [Because of their refusal to attend], the reconstruction could not be performed.

SNIPPED

J. Contradictions amongst the statements of the McCanns and their friends

The indications mentioned above were sufficient to make the McCanns suspects.

What is certain is that since the start of the investigation [into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann], there were inconsistent an even contradictory situations concerning the witness statements; for example as regards:

the records of telephone calls that were made and received on mobile ’phones that belonged to the couple and to the group of friends that were on holiday with them
the movement of people right after the disappearance of the little girl was reported, and
concerning the state in which the bedroom from where the child had disappeared was found (was it a closed window, and open window or a partially open window) etc.

The mystery would deepen due to the alerts of the sniffer dogs that we mentioned above.

SNIPPED

K. The right to free speech and freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights

We are dealing here with the exercise of the freedom of opinion or freedom of expression of a man whose professional expertise as been that of a criminal investigator for the past 26 years.

SNIPPED

L. The McCanns courted the media - so mustn’t be surprised if some people disagree with their version of events

Dealing with the applicants’ [McCanns’] concerns about the protection of their right to privacy - the right to privacy for their family life - we have verified for ourselves that the McCanns themselves have given numerous interviews to the media. This activity has given the media information that would have been most unlikely to have been publicised any other way. This includes for example the Channel 4 documentary, which had the full co-operation of the McCanns and was widely broadcast in the U.K. and later on in Portugal [we refer to Nos. 32-35 of our list of proven facts].

We have also paid attention to the fact that the McCanns have easy access to both national and international media. For example, they gave an interview to the North American talk show ‘Oprah’, hosted by the well-known Oprah Winfrey. This broadcast was transmitted in Portugal, by SUC, on the 4^th and again on the 9^th of May.

SNIPPED - quotations from Articles 80 and 81 of the Portuguese Civil Code

M. Dr Amaral’s book doesn’t violate the McCanns’ human rights

We have concluded that the McCanns have voluntarily limited their right to the protection of their private and family life, though certainly for the noble purpose of finding their daughter Madeleine’s whereabouts.

Because they voluntarily limited their right to privacy, they opened the doors for other people to give their opinions about the case, either in agreement with what they were saying, but possibly also in disagreement with their directions, always of course within the bounds of legitimate and constitutionally enshrined rights to freedom pf speech and thought.

We do not agree that the right of the book’s author, Dr Goncalo Amaral, can be limited by a right to the protection of privacy on which the McCanns voluntarily placed limitations.

In just the same way, so far as the McCanns’ right to their reputation and a good name is concerned, once they placed the case in the public domain and gave it worldwide notoriety, the McCanns opened all doors to all opinions, even those that are in opposition to them.

Besides that, our understanding is that the circulation of facts contained within the judicial enquiry, and that were in fact published on the initiative of the Republic’s Office of the Attorney-General, can in no way be seen as an interference with a the right to a good image and a good name of subjects in a criminal investigation.

SNIPPED

We also are unable to understand how it is possible for the rights of subjects of a criminal investigation can be affected by the contents of a book that describes the facts of an investigation. The book’s conclusions may well depart from the Ministry of Justice’s interpretation of those facts, but it is nevertheless an analysis solidly and logically built upon those facts.

N. The Court’s conclusions

We thus arrive at this conclusion. It seems important to stress the following:

The indicative facts that led to the McCanns being made formal suspects [arguidos] in the initial investigation were not deemed by the Ministry of Justice to be sufficient to lead to anyone being charged with any criminal offence. But those very same facts, seen through another prism and from another foundation, may well lead to a different conclusion from that reached by the Justice Ministry. The evidence that was deemed to be insufficient for a criminal prosecution can be understood in a different way, for example in an interpretation that can quite legitimately be published as a work of literature, so long as the said interpretation does not offend the fundamental rights of anyone involved. And as we have stated above, we have explained why the interpretation in Dr Amaral’s book does not offend the McCanns’ rights.

To sum up: The main purpose of the book at issue in these proceedings - ‘Maddie: The Truth About A Lie’ - which was written by the defendant, Dr Goncalo Amaral – is to defend his personal and professional integrity, as the author himself points out straightaway in his preface, and throughout the text.

The contents of the book do not violate any of the McCanns’ [the applicants’] fundamental rights.

The actions of its being written and published are justified under the constitutional rights which belong to all of us by virtue of the European Convention on Human Rights and by Articles 37 and 38 of the Portuguese Republic’s Constitution.

O. The Court’s judgment

Since that is the view we have taken on the matter, it follows that the decision made by the court [in September 2009 and confirmed by the court in February 2010] must be revoked.

The appeal by the defendant Goncalo Amaral in these proceedings is therefore allowed.

by **PeterMac** 14.12.14 9:20

Strange, given the above, that Duarte would take it on.

by PEANUT66 14.12.14 9:23

PeterMac wrote:Strange, given the above, that Duarte would take it on.

Money talks!!

by Bishop Brennan 14.12.14 9:31

PeterMac wrote:Strange, given the above, that Duarte would take it on.

Stranger still that the McCanns didn't let it drop - that judgement by the appeal court was a comprehensive thrashing. It was clear, unambiguous and left no room for doubt. Unless there is some technicality being exploited in this latest trial, then they can expect this to be shut down once and for all.

by **PeterMac** 14.12.14 9:33

PEANUT66 wrote:
Money talks!!

It does, but a solicitor is there to advise as well.
I wonder for example, whose idea it was to try to settle all that time ago.
She has a professional reputation to maintain, and it is not beyond possibility that the judge might make some disparaging remarks about bringing the case with so little - or no - evidence to back it up
about the clear coaching of witnesses, about witnesses having to rely on bits of paper written in the hotel lobby, and about the general waste of Public Funds and Court time caused by the case.

I like the way BS put it
their malevolent and mendacious . . . claim

by Joss 14.12.14 10:11

Bishop Brennan wrote:
PeterMac wrote:Strange, given the above, that Duarte would take it on.

Stranger still that the McCanns didn't let it drop - that judgement by the appeal court was a comprehensive thrashing. It was clear, unambiguous and left no room for doubt. Unless there is some technicality being exploited in this latest trial, then they can expect this to be shut down once and for all.

Didn't team McC want to settle this out of Court and that never happened?

by Joss 14.12.14 10:16

McCanns and Amaral fail to reach settlement
by Brendan de Beer, in Algarve · 20-02-2013 15:31:00 · 28 Comments
The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann and a former PJ police inspector have this week reportedly failed to reach agreement on an out-of-court settlement.

The defence team of Gonçalo Amaral told Lusa News Agency that court proceedings are back on track after the two parties failed to agree terms.
Kate and Gerry McCann sued Amaral for 1.2 million euros in damages, and the case was put on hold due to an apparent attempt in January by the McCanns to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The case centres around the publication of a best-selling book by Amaral, The Truth of the Lie, which was later transformed into a television documentary shown on national television.
It was reported last month that more than 1.2 million
euros was made from Kate McCann’s book about her missing daughter.
“Income from the book has significantly improved the position”, of the funds’ accounts, its directors said this week, who added: “This will continue as a result of publication in other countries and the release of the paperback.”
Madeleine’s Fund climbed to around 2.5 million euros in the immediate months after her disappearance in May 2007, but in 2009, Gerry McCann told The Portugal News, “We are in danger of running out of money by the end of the year.”
While the Fund has admitted it has scaled back following UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s creation of Operation Grange, it revealed that it still pays for “a 24-hour, 7 day a week telephone line to receive and capture information from around the world which may assist the investigation while also supporting a small investigation team, including a Portuguese speaker to help with the above and with campaign activities.”
http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/mccanns-and-amaral-fail-to-reach-settlement/27800

by Liz Eagles 14.12.14 10:22

Joss wrote:McCanns and Amaral fail to reach settlement
by Brendan de Beer, in Algarve · 20-02-2013 15:31:00 · 28 Comments
The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann and a former PJ police inspector have this week reportedly failed to reach agreement on an out-of-court settlement.

The defence team of Gonçalo Amaral told Lusa News Agency that court proceedings are back on track after the two parties failed to agree terms.
Kate and Gerry McCann sued Amaral for 1.2 million euros in damages, and the case was put on hold due to an apparent attempt in January by the McCanns to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The case centres around the publication of a best-selling book by Amaral, The Truth of the Lie, which was later transformed into a television documentary shown on national television.
It was reported last month that more than 1.2 million
euros was made from Kate McCann’s book about her missing daughter.
“Income from the book has significantly improved the position”, of the funds’ accounts, its directors said this week, who added: “This will continue as a result of publication in other countries and the release of the paperback.”
Madeleine’s Fund climbed to around 2.5 million euros in the immediate months after her disappearance in May 2007, but in 2009, Gerry McCann told The Portugal News, “We are in danger of running out of money by the end of the year.”
While the Fund has admitted it has scaled back following UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s creation of Operation Grange, it revealed that it still pays for “a 24-hour, 7 day a week telephone line to receive and capture information from around the world which may assist the investigation while also supporting a small investigation team, including a Portuguese speaker to help with the above and with campaign activities.”
http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/mccanns-and-amaral-fail-to-reach-settlement/27800

There are simultaneous threads going on with regards to the libel trial.

GA resigned from the Portuguese Police. He was vilified in the UK Press (who isn't!), demeaned and personally brought into disrepute by a powerful media machine and a bunch of tossers in Portugal who, for reasons known only to themselves kow-towed to the UK ~~police~~ politicians.

Portugal have pooped on this case for Madeleine and they've also pooped on Gonçalo Amaral.

by Doug D 17.01.15 11:00

Note posted up with thanks to Anne Guedes & Pamalam:

Day 14 Jan 21st 2015 for reading of proven facts.

There is a possibility that “matter of facts" that the judge decided to consider isn’t going to be read publicly.

The norm is that in a civil trial the “matter of facts” isn’t publicly read but just released to the lawyers.

Public reading of the “matter of facts” is always read in penal trials.

Representatives will try to appear at court regardless.

So it looks like next week may be another 'no news week' then.

by Guest 17.01.15 11:54

Doug D wrote:Note posted up with thanks to Anne Guedes & Pamalam:

Day 14 Jan 21st 2015 for reading of proven facts.

There is a possibility that “matter of facts" that the judge decided to consider isn’t going to be read publicly.

The norm is that in a civil trial the “matter of facts” isn’t publicly read but just released to the lawyers.

Public reading of the “matter of facts” is always read in penal trials.

Representatives will try to appear at court regardless.

So it looks like next week may be another 'no news week' then.

Any idea if Amaral's lawyer or the other defendants lawyers are duty bound to keep them private.I can well imagine the prosecution being reluctant if it doesn't read well.

by ShuBob 17.01.15 13:57

Bishop Brennan wrote:
PeterMac wrote:Strange, given the above, that Duarte would take it on.

Stranger still that the McCanns didn't let it drop - that judgement by the appeal court was a comprehensive thrashing. It was clear, unambiguous and left no room for doubt. Unless there is some technicality being exploited in this latest trial, then they can expect this to be shut down once and for all.

They are quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place! They have to be seen to be challenging it. Imagine the alternative with the British public finally being able to read the book and the press quoting from it unchallenged. It doesn't bear thinking as far as they are concerned. They have to keep up appearances until all avenues are closed.

All IMO of course!

by Angelique 17.01.15 23:54

ShuBob

Is this correct?

That GA may be able to publish in the UK?

Sorry if this has already been discussed but I have not had time to read all the threads :/

by inspirespirit 19.01.15 13:39

McCann's v Goncalo Amaral damages trial. Wednesday 21st January.

According to facebook.

by plebgate 19.01.15 16:35

Doug D wrote:Note posted up with thanks to Anne Guedes & Pamalam:

Day 14 Jan 21st 2015 for reading of proven facts.

There is a possibility that “matter of facts" that the judge decided to consider isn’t going to be read publicly.

The norm is that in a civil trial the “matter of facts” isn’t publicly read but just released to the lawyers.

Public reading of the “matter of facts” is always read in penal trials.

Representatives will try to appear at court regardless.

So it looks like next week may be another 'no news week' then

Once the lawyers have the matters of facts released to them does it mean that they know what side the judge will come down on?

I am hoping it does and that someone on twitter might have an inkling.

Will be interesting to see what twitter looks like on Thursday or possibly late Wednesday?

by Doug D 20.01.15 17:35

Lazz (sorry Thomas, Guestbook 17^th Jan 2015, 9.55, it’s a personalized term of endearment and your comment is too cryptic for a thicko like me) has posted up Dr Amarals message from last year, together with this blog prior to tomorrows reading of the ‘facts’:

http://l-azzeri-lies-in-the-sun.com/Very_Best_to_Dr_Amaral.html/

I think the majority of people on here would join with her in wishing Dr Amaral ‘all the best’ both tomorrow and in his subsequent ‘verdict’ appearance.

by aiyoyo 20.01.15 18:54

The norm is that in a civil trial the “matter of facts” isn’t publicly read but just released to the lawyers.

That begs the question how come there's going to be a reading in court of the "facts" in the civil trial of McCanns vs Amaral & Co, going against the norm?

Why is everything relating to the McCanns unprecedented?

Educated guess says it might be because they used underhanded tactics to secure a prima facie case against Amaral & Co, which, if not for the inexperienced judge that granted it there will be no case. Also educated guess says their high handed way of demanding an injunction of the book and then refusing to release it when the injuction was overturned and their thuggish way of freezing Amaral's asset are all factors that render their make their case a classroom study subject.

by Doug D 20.01.15 19:09

Aiyoyo:

That begs the question how come there's going to be a reading in court of the "facts" in the civil trial of McCanns vs Amaral & Co, going against the norm?

I think you’ve missed the point that it’s an unknown at the moment. Anne is going to turn up, but doesn’t know whether the public will be able to get in or if it will just be pronouncements in front of the lawyers, either in the Judges Chambers or a closed Court.

by Searcher 20.01.15 19:48

Thinking of Dr. Amaral tomorrow, for strength, guidance - and with an enormous thankyou for his work.
Blessings.

by Liz Eagles 20.01.15 20:16

It will be particularly interesting to see which media turn up tomorrow. I think it unlikely Brunt will be there given the atrocious doorstepping of Brenda Leyland.

I can't help wondering if Sky News turn up who they will be sending? Or will Sky News just cock a deaf one and not bother to turn up?

Oh dear, do you think Sky News are in a bit of quandary? How can they not send someone?

by ultimaThule 20.01.15 20:19

Searcher wrote:Thinking of Dr. Amaral tomorrow, for strength, guidance - and with an enormous thankyou for his work.
Blessings.

Seconded, Searcher. Força Gonçalo! clapping

by Searcher 20.01.15 20:22

Thankyou; not wanting to be simplistic or 'directional' but perhaps if some of us here can focus our thoughts in the morning, maybe light a candle for right outcome, and for Dr. Amaral, this may have a helpful effect. Thinking of darling child too.

by **PeterMac** 20.01.15 20:38

Before people start lighting candles and having vigils, tomorrow is NOT the final verdict.
It is (so far as I can understand) a judicial statement of the 'facts' on which the final verdict will rely.

by Liz Eagles 20.01.15 20:54

PeterMac wrote:Before people start lighting candles and having vigils, tomorrow is NOT the final verdict.
It is (so far as I can understand) a judicial statement of the 'facts' on which the final verdict will rely.

That's my understanding too PeterMac. It's a form of 'summing up', which does make Blacksmith's 'cop out/hedge your bets/call to those who have any opinion' tripe all the more annoying.

Sorry, forgot to add...in my opinion.

by ultimaThule 20.01.15 21:16

Providing the judge is fit and well and none of the parties to the proceedings seeks an adjournment, tomorrow's hearing will establish the 'materia de prova' (the matters that can be used as evidence within the limits fixed for this trial) after which counsels for the claimaints and the defendants will have '10 days to hand written allegations concerning points of law and their interpretation to the court'.

I'm certainly not holding my breath for the verdict, but I am hoping tomorrow's proceedings will also settle the issue of whether the McCanns had the necessary authorisation from the High Court to represent its Ward and it seems to me that wishing continued strength and fortitude to Dr Amaral is not out of place, PeterM.

by Searcher 20.01.15 23:49

I feel for Dr. Amaral; can only think he has been through hell, simply for trying to establish a truth. I will light a candle for tomorrow.

The January 2015 McCanns v Amaral hearing on the facts - what did the Portuguese Court of Appeal say about the facts?