SCUFFLE IN HOUSE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 33, 9 February 1932, Page 7

SCUFFLE IN HOUSE

GUILTY OF ASSAULT

MERCY RECOMMENDED

yOUTH'S BEHAVIOUR

'- A verdict of guilty of common assault with the strongest possible recormnenda- : iion to mercy was returned by the jury in: the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon at the end of the trial of Norman . Alan Millar on a, charge of attempting " to-\murder, his brother in a house in Arlington street, Wellington,' last No- : veraber. His Honour Mr. Justice Reed, "after informing the jury that the accused had been before the Courts previously on assault1 charges, and expressing the opinion that the trouble seem- ' ed •to be due to drinking, remanded .Millar until to-morrow morning for senton'ce. ; It was alleged by the Crown that gome time after 11 p.m. on 10ith Noyem- ."' ber there.was an altercation between the accused, whose age "was given as y twenty-one, and his married brother, . David Hugh Millar, with wliora'thei ac^ . cuapd lived. The evidence: was 'that- , the accused had been drinking during , the' day; and it was alleged.that;du!r T : . ing a strngglebetween the.two brothers' the accused drew a revolver arid David Millar was wounded in the side by a :■-.■ bullet. ■;■' : .: .;■:.-:.,, -. ■■;: ; In addition to • the, alleged attempted murder there were two counts, '. put .forward as alternatives, against the accused:—(l) "That with intent to do grievous bodily harm he did actual bodilyharm; (2) that, ho assaulted ..Ills':'brother, so as to cause actual bodily harm. . At the.conclusion of the case for the • ' down no evidence was balled for • the ~ defence. '...-■ . ; i.-, -. . ■'.•.■ . FOB THE DEFENCE, r Counsel for the accused. addressed the; jury, strongly emphasising in Ms submission that nowhere in] the whole •of the evidence or even in'the reading ' between the lines, which people were prone to do, was there the. slightest vestige or suspicion of guiky intention | ~ on the part of the accused, either to kill his brother,' wound 'hiinj assault him, or do anything else to harm his ■brother. It might just; be there was a feeling that somewhere in the facts ■ there' was an: indication, that -smouldeij- : ing in the .back of ..-Norman , Millar's drunken mind he. had some maudlin idea of causing harm to' his\brother. ■ In this connection he was not speaking of intent, but acts that would indir cate the existence of intent. ~ j ACCUSED'S CONDITION. While drunkenness, rightly so, was no ■■... excuse for crime, continued counsel, it • did, afford a defence if the evidence: ... satisfied the jury that no guilty state" : of mind existed. The jury, must con- ■ : sider whether the accused was in such ,; a- state of drunkenness that he could • not appreciate^ thatyhis/ act > would, bo ■ likely to cause his brother's death or " cause his brother grievous bodily harm. The Crown must prove intent, ard conn • sel advocated that beyond the presence ■ of the revolver and the fact, which he ; said he hesitated even to mention, that : David Millar's wife communicated with - "'■ her husband earlier in the day cpm- . plaining, of the accused's behaviour, . there was not one jot of evidence prov- , ing intent or motive. Counsel also . submitted that the ■ evidence showed ■.".' that the revolver could have been dis- .. charged without intent by either the /accused or his brother David in, the v--..struggle, they had in the .house. : evidence relating to the Vfevolver^and' i the struggle, it was contended, was i more than sufficient "for tho jury to say that the accused was not culpable for what had happened. . • JXJRy SEEKS ASSISTANCE. O ]"'.," His Honour summed up, arid the jury >'retired shortly before 4 o'clock. After being out about an hour the jury, re- ; turned,and asked his Honour for direc- ■ tioins on-certaui,matters, one of iwiich ' Was whether it was in their power to V give a verdict of common assault. His " Honour, replied that it • competent ' for the jury to bring in such a' finding. i, At the request of the foreman, David Hugh Millar, who, had given evidence ia , the morning, went into the witness box again with a view to satisfying <the " jury on the point of whether the accused had pointed the revolver■.; at him. . | Witness declared that his'brother' Had not pointed the revolver at him. - ;( The jury retired again, and a -few minutes later returned with the verdict already stated., JUDGE'S COMMENT; .: His Honour said he always paid ■ the greatest respect to a jury's recom- : '■:' mendation to mercy, but unfortunately. Millar had been rather prone to the ' ;: type of offence of which he had been i ; f6und guilty. He had.been before the • "Courts previously, and his. Honour said.. ,■' he really did ' not know whether it would not be a wise thing!to give the a".-youth some^ Borstal treatment under which he would get some discipline. The foreman of the jury suggested i a rider to the verdict asking the accused to submit himself to-an examination for fragments of glass which his brother had suggested might still be in his head as a result of a blow he had -~ received while he was on the Mai-ama. '. _ His Honour said he would accept the rider, and refer it to the proper, authorities, 'though, of course, the. ■'■ accused would have to consent to the examination being made. The trouble with the :-., youth seemed to be that he could not ' keep away from drink. He would be remanded until Wednesday for sentence.