Introduction
The Judge at the beginning of hearing sessions spoke and instructed the scribe about the request that had been made by Gonçalo Amaral’s previous lawyer so the defendant could be heard in court. That request was opposed by the McCann's lawyer, Isabel Duarte, and had been previously refused by the Judge in 2013.
The McCanns also requested to be heard in court and saw their application similarly refused. Their lawyer appealed that decision to the Appeals court and their request was granted, therefore they were now authorized to be heard in court, which is what takes place after this “introductory” instruction by the lady Judge, Maria Emília de Melo e Castro.
The Judge added that since Gonçalo Amaral’s former lawyer did not oppose the ruling - which refused his request to be heard - a new appeal opposing it [the Judge's ruling] could no longer be accepted, and therefore that decision had now become final.
The Judge continues instructing the scribe and states that the plaintiffs have requested the court to solicit an official application to ATA [Autoridade Tributária Aduaneira] i.e. the Portuguese equivalent to the IRS, in order to obtain confidential fiscal information.
The Judge Maria Emília de Melo e Castro authorises and orders the dispatch to be prepared “since it is essential to know, within the scope of the case being analysed here at the court, what are the eventual earnings” of the defendant Gonçalo Amaral regarding the sales of the book ‘Maddie, A Verdade da Mentira’.
The Judge then adds that the court dismissed the need to observe the confidentiality of that fiscal information in view of the fact that “the acquirement of that evidence” is crucial and ruled that the other defendant parties have 10 days to oppose the plaintiff's request. That meant that the hearing session of yesterday's afternoon, where Isabel Duarte was supposed to make her final allegations for a period of three hours was adjourned sine die [without a definite date scheduled] and so was the hearing session of the 10th of July. Due to the judicial holidays it's very likely that the trial will only continue in or after September. The Judge also mentions that in September alterations will be made to the Penal Code Process but those changes will not affect the ongoing trial.
Earlier this year, the only defendant party opposing the McCann’s fiscal request was the lawyer for the Guerra e Paz book publishers who argued that this new application would cause an unnecessary lengthening of the trial.
What follows is Kate Healy and Gerry McCann's declarations to the court in strict compliance with Portuguese Law. A declaration is a series of answers to questions put by the Judge, and of questions from the accusation or/and defendant's lawyers.
The McCanns requested to make a further statement at the end of each declaration, these statements will not be considered and will have no effect on the trial outcome even though they were recorded by the scribe.