CONVICTION SET ASIDE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 6 October 1926, Page 9

CONVICTION SET ASIDE.

WRIT OF HIABIEIUiS CORPUS.

SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION

(BY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION.) AUCKLAND, Oct, 6. Air. Justice Headman gave his judgment in the application for a. writ of ha,bens corpus arising from the decision of Air. F. K. Hunt. S.M., who, on September 8, found William George Oavenebt guilty on two charges of theft .and sentenced the accused to two months’ imprisonment on the first charge and one month on the second. Application for leave to appeal was reX fused by Mr. Hunt, who said: ‘ ‘There v is too much of this appealing. I am going to put a stop to it.’’ His Honour said that it was plain that the iimagisitirate had altered his decision on the second charge, after the matter of an appeal against the ,v sentence of two months’ imprisonment on the other charge had been mentioned. It was evident the magistrate in- ' tended to make certain that no matter, what the fate of the appeal against his decision on the first charge might foe, Oavenett should suffer impTisommertt. 'Accordingly he refused to increaiso tli’o sentence flby one day iso that appeal proceedings could be taken on tho isecond charge. The man was sentenced to imprisonment, not because Ihe had stolen a.n gixlle, but because counsel had taken a step which inferenrtially meant that the magistrate’s judgment in another matter would he impeached. The conviction was set aside and the prisoner was ordered to be discharged. ___________