M.P. urges retrial

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32902, 28 April 1972, Page 2

M.P. urges retrial

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, April-27. A sometimes vociferous crowd of 400 in Auckland last night heard leading lawyers dispute the imprisonment of Arthur Allan Thomas, on a charge of murder. The meeting was convened by the Thomas Retrial Association. Many of the people were from the Pukekawa district. The Labour Party’s shadow minister of justice, Dr A. M. Finlay, said that the trial

Judge, Mr Justice Henry, had not satisfactorily summed up the case in his final address to the jury. “The Judge overstated the case of the Crown and understated the case of the defence,” he said. "In my opinion the Court

of Appeal should have ordered a new trial. I would like the case fully argued again before the , Court of P Dr Finlay said he would certainly encourage a Labour Sunent to facilitate a r application for a retrial to the Court of Appeal. A Havelock North lawyer, Mr H. R. Carver, said that the Attorney-General (Sir Roy Jack) had written to him saying the Government was prepared to study a full statement from the association on the case. He had said in the letter that no one would resist the reopening of the case if it was warranted. Mr Carver said to the meet-

ing that a retrial should have been ordered by the Court of Appeal because the Judge had made a mistake in summing up the case to the jury. He distributed copies of the alleged errors and said they constituted a miscarriage of justice under section 385 of the Crimes Act. Two resolutions were passed by the meeting. The first was that a message be sent to the Minister of Justice condemning the action of the Government in refusing access to the Court of Appeal for a retrial for Thomas. The second was to advise Thomas to proceed immediately with a new application to the Court of Appeal.