THE CITATION OF CRICK.

NZ Truth, Issue 115, 31 August 1907, Page 4

THE CITATION OF CRICK.

THE FULL COURT'S DECISION.

Struck Off the Roll.

Decision Not Unanimous— A "Scene" m Court,

Tlie N.S.W. Full Court was crowded on Friday morning week, the occasion being the delivering of judgment m the case of W. P. Crick, who was cited to sh> >\v cause . why he should not be struck off the roll of solicitors because ot the finding of Mr Justice Owen that he had received -half the fees paid to PETER C. CLOSE by a number of applicants for improvement leases. The bench consisted of six judges, as follows :— The Chief Justice (Sir F. M. Darley), Mr Justice A. H. Simpson, j Mr Justice G. B. Simpson, Mr Justice Cohen, Mr Justice Street, and Mr Acting-Justice Sly. Of the large gathering, for every inch of room, seating and standing, was fully occupied— it may truthfully be said that it was the most expectant, even excited crowd that ever thronged the court. Of course, the , proverbial judicial calm pervaded the proceedings. Or, rather, this was the case till the end, when there was something m the nature of a little scene. Mr Crick did not appear m the court till after the Chief ' Justice, who was the first to speak, had announced his own individual . judgment. It was evident that Mr Crick was still suffering from a bad cold. He wore a cotten shirt, with a silk handkerchief protecting his throat. He was m no way perturbed, however, at THE THOUGHT OR FEELING of what the morning had m store for him,' and what was more, he seemed strong enough — with his massive rolling shoulders, the proportions of which seemed to be emphasised by his loose attire— to bear without the . least flinch anything and everything it was m the power of any court, or of any body of people, to inflict on him. The Chief Justice reviewed the circumstances and conditions surrounding the appointment of the Royal Commission, the matters that then came before the Commission, and the conclusions eventually arrived at by the Commissioner. The Commissioner, he pointed out, declared that he had .no hesitation m believing Close as' to his statement that half the money received by him was paid to Mr Crick, and likewise m disbelieving Mr Crick m his denial that lie (Mr Crick) had so received this money. "I have," said his Honor, after making it quite clear that he accepted the finding of the Commissioner as A JUDICIAL FINDING, or the finding of a court of record, "given the case most careful consideration. I have attended closely to the able argument on both sidesmore closely, if possible, to the argument on behalf of Mr Crick. I know —and deeply feel— what the position must be to a practitioner of this court. But, weighing over this and every other possible consideration, I can Come to no- other conclusion than that I am bound to act upon the Commissioner's report — which I ac-' cept as representing a judicial finding and with which I agree. I do not consider Mr Crick a fit and proper person to remain on the rolls of this court. Accordingly my order is — that his name be removed from the rolls, and that he pay the costs of these proceedings." Mr Justice G. B. Simpson, who dissented from this ruling, somewhat emphatically declared that he did not accept the findings of the Commission as those of a court of record, or as representing a judicial decision. Nor did he believe that Mr Justice Owen himself had ever looked upon the Commission an that light. His Honor incidentally mentioned that if Mr Crick had been found guilty of the charge of conspiracy, heard before before htimi, he would have sentenced him to A VERY SEVERE TERM of imprisoßment. He also remarked that whilst Mr Crick was accfiiitted m one of the charges brought against him, the jury m the two others disagreed. In these, therefore, there was no acquittal and no conviction. " Accordingly!. Mr Orick. .by every principle of British law, must be presumed to be an innocent man, 1 ' continued his Honor, "and there would be no safety for anybody i* that principle was, for a single moment, forgotten." He concluded by saying that he had given the case every possible care, knowing that he stood absolutety alone m the view be was taking, and that m dissenting from his brother-judges he did so only because he felt compelled to take the course he was pursuing. "I DECLINE TO ACT." he added, ' 'en the finding of a Commissioner, when, m my opinion, it is not a judicial record." His Honor concluded by expressing the opinion that the rule respecting Mr Crick should: be discharged— in other words, that he should' not be deemed to have been guilty of conduct rendering him unfit to remain on the rolls. All four other justices concurred with the Chief Justice. "It is not," remarked Mr Justice Cohen, at the close of his judgment, "without considerable regret that I have arrived at a conclusion adverse to Mr Crick." Once Mr .Justice A. H. Simpson), when speaking, referred to Mr ' Crick as "Crick." Mr Crick promptly corrected him. saying, "Mr Crick." The incident, however, l°d. to no remark from the Bend m reply After all six Judges had spoken, The Chief Justice, for the Court Teneraliy, or as representing the decision of five of them as against one, repeated the order as already delivered as from himself— namely that Mr Crick be STRUCK QFF THE ROLLS, and that he pay the costs of the present proceedings. "You cannot order me to pay costs," said Mr Crick, rising at this stage, despite the efforts of one or two friends t 0 prevent him from do,ing so. 1 Mr. Crick then went on to explain

that the proceedings arose out of a> motion of the Court. He was directed by the Chief Justice, he said, to appear before the Court to answer certain charges,, and then, wholly, of its own accord, the Law .Institute stepped m. The Chief Justice : We have made our order. Mr Crick : Possibly, as I am the person imteresjted, your Honor will listen to me. Mr Crick went on to remind his Honor that he had'been a solicitor of the court for twenty years, that he had held many responsible positions during that period, and that even his Honor had sat with him m the Executive chair as the head of the Government. He then repeated that the court was not justified m directing him to pay thecosts of the proceedings •so far as the Law Institute was concerned, for the .reason that it was the court itself—not the institute— which had initiated the proceedings^ The institute had afterwards come along without any invitation from the Court that he knew of, and under these circumstances he did not consider it had ANY MORE CLAIM ON HIM FOR COSTS than any person who, like the institute, might take it upon himself to step m. Mr Stephen, who appeared for the institute m the first instance, had. he said, put the case against him (Mr Crick) very fairly. Later on the institute was represented by a gentleman whose name he did not wish to mention. He would deal with him later on. Subsequently Mr Crick reverted" to the matter of the person who appeared for the institute m the second place, saying that it was a strange thing that this was the only member of the Bar with whom he was not on speaking terms, and that this was a clear indication that "they were out for gore." He declared that the costs had been piled up unnecessarily, and that if the- initiative had been taken by the institute he would perhaps consider the order directing him to pay a fair one. As it wa|s, he candidly said that HE WOULD GO TO HELL before he paid Is. The Chief Justice : Mr Crick ! Mr Crick : I beg your Honor's pardon. But lam not worried or excited.. I have been pursued for three years, and if I have to p;o down I will pull two or three down with me. Mr Crick concluded by remarking that he had been struck off. of course ; by assuring ths Bench that he had no* intention whatsoever of letting the matter rest where it was: and that what the Bench that day had done was to find him guilty of A CRIMINAL OFFENCE which no jury— which no Government with a packed jury — would, or" could, do. . The Chief Justice (after consulting with some of the other Judges): The order must stand. We , invited the institute to make it up. The institute then came here as applicants. The institute has now succeeded, and the ordinary order must follow. "I hope," said Mr Crick, rising and leaving, the court, "that tbey will live long enough to get. a bob out of me." The remark was heard by all the Judges ■: but it elicited no response from any of them. The court then rose.