Supreme Court Accused Fails To Appear

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30667, 5 February 1965, Page 8

Supreme Court Accused Fails To Appear

The accused In a trial set down for hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday failed to attend and the police were unable to locate him.

Patrick William Hammond, aged 40, a freezing worker, was to appear to answer charges that on September 10 at Kaiapoi he obtained from John Logie, Ltd., goods to the value of £5 4s 3d by means of a valueless cheque, and that on the same date at Kaiapoi he obtained from Desmond Telfer Sinclair goods and money to the total value of £8 by means of valueless cheque. About 12.15 pun. 48 jurors who had been waiting all morning for the selection of the jury panel were excused till 2.15 p.m. Mr Justice Macarthur, who was on the Bench, told the jurors the Court regretted the delay, but the case which the Crown had wished to proceed with had been brought forward in the criminal list. Because of that it was no fault of the accused that he had not attended. A 2.40 p.m. Mr I. C. J. Polson, who was appearing for the Crown, told his Honour that the accused had failed to appear and it had been ascertained that he was under the impression that he did not have to attend the Court until Friday. A car had been sent to his place of work about 11 a.m. but he had signed off permanently, and had not been seen since, said Mr Polson. He asked for the case to be adjourned. His Honour said it was obvious that the Crown could not proceed though every effort had been made to locate the accused.

However, the accused had not been at fault in failing to attend, and he would grant the adjournment. A number of jurors, both men and women, had been inconvenienced and the Court did not like that.

His Honour then told the waiting jurors that the Court was sorry they had been inconvenienced and discharged them foe the rest of the day and asked them to report to the Court at 10 a m. today.