Chương 175: CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE: THE RULING

Kessling ruled at midday. He ruled from the bench, without withdrawing, which Holloway noted in his record as unusual in a capital matter and consistent with a magistrate who had made his decision and did not intend to perform deliberation he had already completed. He stated the findings first, in order. That the operation performed by the accused had been performed on a patient with established general peritonitis of at least five days' standing.

That the patient's death was caused by that condition and not by the operation. That the operation had been the only intervention with any prospect of preserving the patient's life, and that the accused had disclosed the poor prospect to the family before proceeding, in terms the family had understood and accepted. That the family had acted throughout without fault of any kind, and that the court wished this stated in the record.

That the accused had practised without sanction, contrary to the charter, over a period of approximately nine years. That the accused had, over that same period, maintained a written record of her practice of a completeness and candour that the court found without precedent in its experience. Then he stated the ruling. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"On the charge of unauthorised practice resulting in death: the death element is not made out. The causation is established in the accused's favour by her own contemporaneous record and by the medical evidence. The charge in its capital form fails." Calla wrote later that she did not hear the next thirty seconds because of the sound the room made.

"On the residual charge of unauthorised practice," Kessling continued, when the room had settled, "the offence is made out on the accused's own admission and is not in dispute. The practice was unsanctioned. It continued nine years." He paused.

"The charter provides the court discretion in penalty. The court exercises it as follows."

"The accused is prohibited from practising unsupervised within this township or its dependent lands, permanently. That prohibition is absolute and is not subject to review."

"The accused is released to the custody of the northern establishment which has provided an undertaking to this court, on condition that she practise under its review structure. That undertaking is entered in the record and the court regards its breach as a matter it would revisit."

"The accused's records are her own property and shall be returned to her. The court retains the certified translations." He set down the sheet.

"One further matter," he said.

"The court has been asked, in effect, to decide whether a person who does a thing well without permission is more dangerous than a person who does not do it at all. That is not a question the charter answers and I have not enjoyed being the person required to answer it." He paused.

"I have answered it in the way the charter's language directs, which is that the accused shall not stand mute, and that a court which will not hear the account of a person before it is not conducting a proceeding." He looked at Calla.

"The court notes that the representative's argument for admissibility was unnecessary because the court reached the same conclusion from the text independently." He paused.

"The court also notes that the representative had it correct, and had it correct in fewer words than the court used, and the court is not too proud to say so." He struck the bench once.

"This proceeding is concluded."