JURY’S LONG SITTING

Press, Volume C, Issue 29695, 13 December 1961, Page 10

JURY’S LONG SITTING

All Night To Reach Verdict The trial in which a jury returned with its verdict at 4.52 am .yesterday, after a retirement of Bhr 47min. was certainly among the latest night sittings of the Surxreme Court ever held in Christchurch, said the Registrar of the Supreme Court (Mr J. L. W. Gerken) yesterday. The jury's retirement was also the longest in the memory of Supreme Court staff in recent years. After Mr Justice Richmond had finished his summing-up, the jury retired at 8.9 p.m. on Monday. At 10.30 pm. the jury was given supper, at 12.30 a.m. it was provided with a meal, and further refreshments were provided at 3.30 am. It was still light when the jury retired on Monday evening, but several members of the jury expressed their concern to Mr Gerken that they had no lights for their bicycles. They need not have worried, as it was broad daylight again the next day by the time they had delivered their verdict and were ready to go home. Those jurymen who required transport were taken home in police cars. During the night two members of the public, friends of the accused, drowsed in the seats of the public gallery while awaiting the verdict, and the court crier, police, and detectives also reclined in the courtroom between brief periods of conversation. Most of the policemen expressed their intention to pick up a copy of the morning paper on their way home to fortify the story that they would have to tell their wives that they were actually on duty at an extremely late sitting of the Court, and had not been out on an all-night Christmas party.