JURY ARGUES WITH JUDGE

Evening Star, Issue 22806, 15 November 1937, Page 15

JURY ARGUES WITH JUDGE

An English judge set free an accused man and. his woman bookkeeper recently—while the jury protested. It was at Leeds Assizes; the judge was Mr Justice Macnaghten, and the two people whom he discharged were Isaac Bell, 49-year-old Middlesbrough dairyman, and Miss Gertrude Elizabeth Scarth, aged 44, Bell and Miss Scarth were charged with conspiring to defraud the Milk Marketing Board. Miss Scarth was charged with falsifying account books, and Bell with aiding and abetting her. The jury, after retiring, returned and asked the judge: “If it is our opinion that Miss Scarth was guilty of falsification, but without fraudulent intent, what should be our verdict?” The Judge: Is it the opinion of you all? The Foreman: Yes, my lord. The Judge: That means that both must be discharged; the indictment is so r rained that they stand or fall together. Several jurymen at once protested that this was not their intention, and one said, “ We feel Miss Scarth acted under the directions of Bell.” The Judge; If you find that Miss Scarth acted without fraudulent intent, there is an end of the matter against both prisoners. One of the Jury: Oh, no. We didn’t mean that. The Judge: But I’m afraid that is exactly what it does mean.