LAWYER FINED £50

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23375, 8 July 1941, Page 10

LAWYER FINED £SO

REFUSAL TO SERVE John Burns Crichton, who said he had deliberately defied the Emergency Regulations, and intended to continue doing so. was fined the maximum, £SO, in default three months’ imprisonment, when convicted by Mr E. C. Levvey, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday for failing to comply with Regulation 19 of the National Service Emergency Regulations, having been called up for service under* that clause. Sub-Inspector E. T. C. Turner said that Crichton was a barrister and solicitor, and had been called up for service. He had written to the military authorities and said he had no intention of serving in any way, and he had failed to report when called on. Nothing was previously known against him.

Crichton said his letter to the military, of which a copy was put into Court, was nothing in the way of an excuse, and his action had been deliberate, not evasive. Asked by , the Magistrate to define the distinction, Crichton said he had not changed his address or in any way tried to hide.

Crichton said he was legally a member of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and subject to military law. He knew of no prosecution for being absent without .leave, and did not think one could be sustained.

The Magistrate: Are you deliberately refusing to comply. Think carefully before you answer.

Crichton: Yes. ; The Magistrate: Then what do you want me to do? Crichton: Punish me. The Magistrate: Are you going to continue defying the law? Crichton: I cannot acquiesce. Mine is an extreme case. I admit I should, for the sake of peace, goodwill, and good government, but ! cannot. The Magistrate: You leave me no option. Would you like a little while tb think it over? Crichton; No, sir.

The Magistrate: Well, you are a legal man and you know what you are doing. My only course is to impose the maximum penalty, a fine of £SO, in default three months’ imprisonment with hard labour.