STAY OF PROCEEDINGS

Grey River Argus, 23 June 1944, Page 4

STAY OF PROCEEDINGS

Attorney-General’s Power

POSSIBLE USE IN ATTEMPTED MURDER CASE.

P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, June 22. The little-known power of the At-torney-General to direct that proceedings be stayed against a person charged with an indictable ottence before the. accused has been committed for trial maV be used in the case of John Arthur Carey, aged 17, who is charged with the attempted murder of Isobel May Howard, at Mount Nimrod, last January. When the case was called in the Magistrate s Court to-day, Chief-Detective H. Nuttall- informed the Magistrate (Mt, E. C. Levvey) that the file had been forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, to submit it to the Attorney-General (Mr. Mason) for consideration as to whether he should exercise the authority given him by the Statutes Amendment Act of 1938. In the meantime a remand of a week was granted. . e Power to stay proceedings, m effect not to proceed with a charge, is given by Section 24 of the Statutes Amendment Act, 1938, which provides that “the Attorney-General may at any time after a person has been charged with an indictable offence, and before that person has been committed to the Supreme Court for trial, or for sentence, direct that an entry be made in the .criminal record book that proceedings are to be stayed by his direction, and on such entry being made proceedings shall be stayed accordingly.’’ This clause extends the power of the Attorney-General to stay proceedings as originallv defined in ihe Criminal Code Act, 1938, and reenacted in the Crimes Act, 1908. Section 435 of the Crimes Act provided: “The Attorney-General .may at any time after an indictment has been found against any person for any crime, and before any judgment is given thereon, direct the officer of the Court to make in the Crown book an entrv that proceedings are. stayed by his direction, and such entry being made proceedings shall be stayed ac< co^di^gly. ,, Under this original power the- Ab torney-General could stay proceedings only after a Grand Jury had found- an indictment against a person. Since 1938 he has been _ able to do so at any time after a charge has been laid. ■ ' ’ - ■