ON TECHNICAL POINT

Evening Star, Issue 21054, 17 March 1932, Page 3

ON TECHNICAL POINT

— APPEAL IN RELIEF WORK CASE DISMISSED JUDGE REGRETS RAISING OF ISSUE ■ (Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, March 16. On a technical point raised by counsel for the prosecution an appeal by William O’Reilly against his conviction by Mr E. Page, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court on February 11 was dismissed by Mr Justice Ostler in the Supreme Court to-day. O’Reilly was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment by the magistrate on a charge of intimidating relief workers at Hataitai. The grounds of the appeal were that further material evidence had been made available since the Magistrate’s Court hearing, and that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. A preliminary point was raised by counsel for the prosecution that the notice of appeal did not comply with the requirements of the Justices of the Peace Act, 1927. In giving his decision His Honour said he was very sorry the point had been raised. He would much rather have heard the appeal on its merits than decide it on a technical point. Under section 1316 of the Justices of the Peace Act there was a condition precedent to the bringing of an appeal that the notice of appeal should state the very court to which the appeal was to be brought. The notice of appeal in O’Reilly’s case was defective in that respect, and the authorities cited showed that there could be no. waiver of this condition. “ I am bound in law to hold,’’ added His Honour, ‘‘that I have no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal at all. The appeal is therefore dismissed.”