This allegation, suggests Chapman, established itself as a legal myth; it was repeated by Lord Justice Jenkins in a 1954 Court of Appeal practice note. However, both MacKinnon and Jenkins were unaware that the trial had not gone ahead because of Stevenson's death – the events following the case were only published in response to the practice note. As Donoghue's factual claims were therefore never tested in court, it is generally held that what happened in the Wellmeadow Café is not proven and will not be known for certain.