Chief Justice Richard Ground likened the case against Julian Hall, who is charged with stealing half a million dollars, to a production of Hamlet without the prince, because the client at the heart of the matter could not be a witness due to mental illness.

Since March 10, Julian Ernest Sinclair Hall has been on trial in the Supreme Court for five counts of stealing a total of $551,044 from Betty Lorraine McMahon between 1995 and 1996. Consultant counsel to Department of Public Prosecution's office Kulandra Ratneser is representing the Crown. With the trial winding up, Mr. Justice Ground began to instruct the jury yesterday morning. "The central figure in this drama is missing," the Chief Justice told the jury referring to the fact that Mrs. McMahon had not been a witness.

"It is like a performance of Hamlet without the prince. Since 1996 she has been a patient under the mental health act. That makes your job a lot more difficult."

During a series of formal admissions to the court, Hall has admitted to using $288,000 of Mrs. McMahon's money to pay back personal debts. In 1995 he was headed for bankruptcy for the second time in his life, and in Bermuda a bankrupt lawyer cannot practise law.

Hall claims the money was given to him by Mrs. McMahon as a short-term loan that was a private agreement between the two of them.

The fact that Mrs. McMahon was not present meant that she could not be asked directly if she had agreed to loan Hall the money.

"You have to look at that and evaluate evidence from other people," said Mr. Justice Ground. "You also have to look at, even if she did make an offer, whether it was honest of him to act on her offer."

Hall has testified that as far as he knew, Mrs. McMahon was competent to sign the power of attorney over to him, and to give him legal directions. Other witnesses have drawn a different picture of Mrs. McMahon.

Her paid companion told the court Mrs. McMahon could not initiate a conversation, or make a telephone call, and once tried to jump from a moving car. Dr. Thomas Tennant, who was the Chief Medical Officer at St. Brendan's at the time, said he thought she was suffering from a mood disorder.

"You should judge Mr. Hall regarding the state of affairs as they appeared to him," said Mr. Justice Ground. "Her mental state may be relevant to other issues. Whether she wanted him to take over her affairs ? is something for you to decide."

He explained to the jury about what it meant to have power of attorney over someone.

"An attorney is someone who has the authority to act on behalf of another," said Mr. Justice Ground. "In this case we are concerned with an attorney in fact, someone who you have given the power to act for you in matters outside of the law. Such a power is usually given in the form of a document called a deed."

Mr. Justice Ground said even if Hall held power of attorney, this would not give him the right to take half a million from her account and use it for his own purposes without her permission, as he is accused of doing by the Crown.

"If the power is unlimited it does not give him the right to do what he wants with a person's property," said Mr. Justice Ground. "He owes absolute faith, loyalty and integrity to his client in that responsibility. In this case he held power of attorney over all of Mrs. McMahon's property including the money in her bank account. Just because he held power of attorney does not legitimise the actions he is accused of."

The Chief Justice referred to comments made by Hall in his closing arguments on Wednesday where he described the case as "a public lynching in slow motion".

"This is an issue that goes to credibility of the witnesses called before you," said Mr. Justice Ground. "It is a factor you can take into account whether or not they are telling the truth. It was not suggested to them that the prosecution was brought for those reasons. If it is not put to them you don't know what their evidence is in regards to that. You must decide this case dispassionately without fear or prejudice."

The Chief Justice went through a number of transfers between Mrs. McMahon's Bank of Butterfield account and Hall's Woodleigh bank account at the Bermuda Commercial Bank. There has been a number of items entered into evidence including bank statements and copies of managers' cheques showing that Hall borrowed various sums of money, the largest of which was $250,000 to pay off debts ranging from arrears payments on his mortgage to child support payments to money to the accountant general for payroll tax.

Hall opened the Woodleigh account several days after Mrs. McMahon signed the power of attorney over to him.

"There were numerous cheque payments paid out from Woodleigh which we don't have a copy of," said Mr. Justice Ground.

Accountant Paul Hubbard, who took over Mrs. McMahon's affairs from Hall in May, 1996 testified that he could not obtain copies of the cheques written by Hall from the Woodleigh account because the microfilm machine at the Bermuda Commercial Bank was broken.

"This means that the prosecution can't say what the cheques were for and can't say that they were not for the purposes of Mrs. McMahon, a thing the Crown invites you to surmise from the evidence," said Mr. Justice Ground.

The Chief Justice said there may be different considerations applied to the different counts against Hall.

"You have heard a lot of evidence about the background circumstances," said the Chief Justice. "Have the charges been proved or not?"

Mr. Justice Ground said he had identified a number of themes running through the case:

The extent and length of Hall's relationship with Mrs. McMahon.

Hall's relationship with Bettina McMahon.

Whether Mrs. McMahon really wanted Hall as her lawyer.

The way the power of attorney came to be executed.

The absence of documents to support allegations of a loan.

Hall's indebtedness and whether he was a desperate man.

The way he was using the Woodleigh account as a conduit for funds.

The tenacity to which Hall held on to his appointment as Mrs. McMahon's legal representative.

The Chief Justice said he would finish his instructions to the jury this morning and then send them out to decide on a verdict.

Yesterday afternoon the case was adjourned early so that a jury member could go to a funeral.