CONVICTION QUASHED

Evening Star, Issue 25927, 19 October 1946, Page 9

CONVICTION QUASHED

APPEAL COURT DECISION ACQUITTAL ON RECEIVING CHARGE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 18. The Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered to-day, allowed the appeal of John Sunde, of Auckland, drivor fiMr T. P. Cleary), against his conviction at the Supreme Court, Auckland, in February on two charges of receiving stolen goods. In delivering judgment the Chief Justice, Mr O’Leary, said that the evidence, which, was carefully considered, warranted the inference that the appellant had an uneasy conscience about his connection with the goods which were the subject matter of the charges against him, but that, the court liad been unable to find any material which warranted the inference. that the prisoner was ever in actual possession of these goods, or which warranted the inference that he had been in control of them, or had over aided in concealing or disposing of them. The evidence might warrant the suspicion that the accused had done some of these things, "but did not warrant the inference that he had. For these reasons the court, in exercise of its recently extended criminal jurisdiction, ordered that the conviction of Sunde must be quashed, and that the judgment and a verdict of aquittal be entered accordingly. The Chief Justice also stated that in criminal appeals of this nature the court will adopt the policy of giving brief judgments without going, fully into the reasons unless this is necessary for special reasons.