CRIMINAL SESSION IN AUCKLAND

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 112, 5 February 1941, Page 5

CRIMINAL SESSION IN AUCKLAND

Three Women Face Charges

JUDGE DECIDES NEAT LEGAL POINT (By Telegraph—Press xlssociation.) AUCKLAND, February 4. "There is one remarkable feature in I he calendar. There are charges against three women. In 14 years on the bench I have tried not more than half a. dozen women,” said his Honour. Mr. Justice Blair, in his charge to the Grand Jury when opening the Supreme Court crim-inal-session today. "In these three cases there is one most unusual charge against a woman of robbery with assault, the allegation being that she assaulted a man and robbed him. The other charges against two women are theft.”

His Honour said there were IS cases to go to the jury, but only one of the charges was of a very grave nature. That was included in the charges against a number of prisoners who escaped from the Auckland jail and was concerned with an allegation of attempted murder of a warder. His Honour reviewed the charges against the five prisoners of breaking jail by violence and the chatge against one of them. John Henry Silva, of attempted murder of a warder.

If the warder had died, he said, the Crown would have been justified in charging all of the men with murder but the warder recovered and that put the matter on a different legal footing. One of the prisoners—the man who hit him—was charged with attempted murder.

"There is a nice neat legal point, but a. sound one. involved,” said his Honour. That is that in a charge of attempted murder there must be intent to kill tint! .Silva in this case intended only to render the man unconscious, to put him out. but not to kill him. Therefore I take the responsibility of directing you that your proper course is to find a no bill against Silva on the charge of attempted murder.”