SUPREME COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20705, 1 May 1929, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

lEMINALI EMINAL SITTINGS. a Honor Mr Justice Smith.) terly criminal sittings ,of the 3urt were commenped yesterris Honor Mr Justice Smith. - GRAND JURY. wing, grand jury was empanw S. Anderson, Ambrose A. eorge’M. Aiknian, Walter larold D.s Tennent, George Iwatd ’E. ’ Allem Arthur J. id Leslie, Herbert Harraway, ipson, James S. Gow, Robert ’ George; Manson, Cyril H. nes Irvine, Hagbarth E.’ Mol- ‘ Barnett, John K, Mucfie, Dampen. Charles H. Russell, atterson, Mr. Mollcr was’.apHONOR’S ADDRESS. _____ or, in addressing the grand that /there were seven cases fore it for consideration. Of were sexual cases, and the : were- offences against prothe sexual cases two related i. The first was against a there were two charges, first, n . instrument; and secondly, ing an instrument with intent abortion. The only question d -give!. the jury any trouble if corroboration. Usually in the judge warned the common convict unless there was cor- , but, sometimes a jury conipite of . that warning. The should leave .it open for the y to convict. The grand jury have any considerable diffiding .with the case. The next against' a woman who was h permitting an instrument to icrself; and secondly, with unng an instrument. The grand ily to consider whether, there a facie ■ case • sufficient to put 1 on trial. The other ’ two i concerned assaults. A man L with assault with intent to e; and secondly, with indecent sault consisted merely of the of force in, no matter how ;ree without the person’s conntent was to’ be inferred from stances of tbc case. If the found a prima facie case on int it need have no, difficulty ohd. It would have".the man’s mt to- take into consideration, ise was one of ’ndecent'assault s: There was no . doubt that luid been committed in law. nd jury would find a true bill iculty.- Among the cases conperty, two men were charged ig and entering and theft from: | * warehouse by night j; - .His Honor' ->-eJw ) plained the law dealing "with such cases) ■I «nd j. said - that .riot much-was required-) to 1 ■ constitute breaking arid; entering. ’■ The . charges were based ori^tliev,fact-flffiL;-a; case’ of petrol had been. 1 moved' from the building ori to a landirig sta'ge.’ TKe irierri moving of the case, "hpwdfer, constitutedtheft, and the grand jury Was entitled to) bring in a true bill.- The' second couns was' of breaking Tand -entering withV*tcnt to commit a crime." If the grand ■ jury found that there was a prima facie - case on the first count, it would do so on the second. There was also a case against a rqan of stealing wheat and receiving ’ stolen goods. The wheat had been identi- ■ fled," and in the circumstances the grand ... jury;, should have no difficulty. Two men . - were charged with stealing and -one of them with receiving stolen , goods. It was-alleged that the men to- . baccio from a warehouse by curiously indirect methods, and the grand jury ’ was entitled to take into consideration the men s statements., It had only to decide , whether there was sufficient cviderice. to place, the accused on trial. TRUE BILLS. / The grand jury found a true bill in each • case: ' , INDECENT ASSAULT. William ■ was,charged with' indecent under the age of IfKy'eara- ’ 'A 't'rir y-t? Mj*. C. J. L. White appeared for the .accused; 1 On being asked how he pleaded, ’ the ' accused said, “ Guilty.” ’ , ’ , ■ ■} His: Honor remanded the prisoriey for sentence at the close of the sittings. ' ' : A SERIOUS CHARGE. > William James Park was charged with . assault with intent to commit , rape or • ■ -alternatively with indecent assault. The accused, who pleaded not guilty, - '.'was defended by Mr I. L. Hjorring. ; ■ The Crown Prosecutor (Mr F. B. Adams) said that the offence was alleged to have taken place at Maheno on March ’ T >■ Tl *ere were two counts, but the Crown did not ask the jury to convict on both; it could convict oir one or. other . ..charge. - The accused had made a state- • ment to the police which at least would , jystify the jury in convicting him of I .common assault, but on-the facts of the case,tit was fairly clear that a more sevi- > oils-.'charge could bo made against him. ; There were really three possible aspects - ln Which the jury could view the case: ... {1) IJ might consider that the accused, had assaulted the woman with no more intent .than could be brought under the >, heading of a common assault. (2) It might find that he had committed 'the assault with at least an indecent intention; and (3) it might find that the accusea did not merely assault the woman ■ with- indecent intent, but that the intent ion went #o ; far as intent to commit the crime of-rape. • The Crown Prosecutor, in outlining the charge, said that about 2 o’clock on March 2 the accused ■' /> aa . **’ Chrysler sedan car £roru damanf when he had caught up on the noman and asked her where - she was going; - -She had_ said -slie-was going to a picnic at the Willows, near Maheno, and Jie had offered her a ride. The accused liad'not followed the usual route to the M illows, but .he.-was’a-resident of the neighbom-hoofi for' many years, so that he should have knoivh tho localitv.- Before ; reaching .the spot where : hc had stopped his .car. the -accused had been putting, lus hand. 0n..-tha.; knee, and she had occasion to tell him to stop. Ihe '..accused had stopped,-Iris ear in a narrow road) but he had stated that he i se ® the,,picnic was being held ;t..ere. The Willows, however, was about a. mile and 33 chains; away from this spot. The Crown Prosecutor stated that the accused had then assaulted the .Iro'inaii.’ ile trad placed one hand over-her mouth to stop her screaming and had interfered with her clothing with his other band, the woman had managed to escape from - the car and ran crying, in a dishevelled" condition along,the road,'where she had met a girl whom she did not know. The fact of meeting this woman under the particular circumstances might he taken as corroboration of the woman’s version of the assault. The Crown Prosecutor then read tbe statements made by the Woman and also fay the accused. The woman in hey statement said when she was about ' with struggling the accused' had said he would let her go if she promised to let him take her to the Willows, bhe fiad promised and The accused let her go. and she made her escape, and ran sererfming-along the road to the Maheno ■■ bridge, where she had met a git-l The ; accused, in his statement, said that the ; woman was a stranger to him. He had : gone off the ordinary route at Gamble’s j Crossing for the woman’s benefit. The I Crown Prosecutor pointed out that the j woman in;; lief-.statement had said she ; bad told the-accused; he was going the ; wrong way.-, The accused’s statement w-ent on that as soon as he had stopped i , the car the woman had started screaming, j but did not say anything. •. The Crown | Prosecutor)'asked if that was likely, on 1 the face'op.it. The accused’s statement i continued.that he.had then put his hand | over the Woman’s mouth, and had told her y for goodness sake not to yell and squeal. . ®[ e b.ad not'used any. pressure in putting I his hand '(oyer he wqriian’s mouth. -The | woman had screamed oiit loudly for about » half a minute. He did, not take any notice where the woman went, after. she i left the car, or how she went,,. - The I Crown Prosecutor asked if that'was likely, t. He had then driven through MahenO j ,back-.to his home at Oahiacu. and had | Jtone tp the sports, at Oamani,that after- , - •©# with-his father. .He had not got out the car, and lie had not -interfered I With? the woman’s, clothing, but it might' I have, been disarranged when she fell out | of the ,car; The woman was all right I nntil’lie stopped the car, when she must

have got the wind up; He thought she must have thought he was going to assault her. He had-given.her no reason'to think that, Hhe had struck him {the accused ) as a very sensible woman. The Crown Prosecutor said if the complainant was a very sensible woman it was strange she started screaming irrationally when the accused stopped his car. The accused’s statement continued that the woman could have'got out of the car as soon as it had stopped, 0n ; the following day {he accused had been interviewed bv the police m company with the woman, and’ he had made the remark that he must must have been mad. This carried the matter somewhat farther than the accused’s formal statement to the police. ■UjS iv 'Oman alleged to have been assaulted corroborated the Crown Prosecutor a statement.

A girl gave evidence that the previous witness came running towards her while she was walking to Maheno on the day in question. The complainant seemed very upset, and' stated that .a man who had guen her a fide-in a motor car had tried to choke 1 her. There .was blood oh -the complainant’s mduth. ■; _ Nergeant-:Turner stated ■ that he was stationed in Oamam in March last. On the morning of March 3 lie interviewed the accused, who made a statement’which he signed. Witness saw the accused later in the day at the complainant’s home. The complainant accused Park of committing tho assault, and Alia reply was. I must have been mad.” Witness read the comp.ainant’s statement to the accused, who made no reply. He- then arrested him. Constable Trethcway also gave evidence, and stated that the road which the accused took .was not the shortest route to the spot to which the complainant wished, to be taken, Mr Adams . asked. that the statement made .by. the-accused to the sergeant be read .to the jury. Mr Hjorring raised an objection, because the .accused had not be’eri,warned before it was -taken. After soriie argument his Honor said he did not propose to treat the statement made by the accused as evidence against him. When the sergeant had definitely made up his mind that the man he was interviewing was the man who had committed what was complained of, he should have warned him before taking his statement. The-Crown Prosecutor said that if Mr Hjorring 'had indicated that he intended to raise this ’ objection he could . have examined the sergeant further When lie was giving his evidence. He asked leave to recall the sergeant and to get evidence on the verbal'statement to him made by the accused. His Honor: Yes, you can recall the sergeant. - Sergeant Turner, after detailing the conversation between himself and. the accused, said he had concluded -that the accused was the man he wanted after he read out the statement made by the complainant in the presence of-the -accused. He had not up to -then made up his mind to arrest him. He arrested him about 4 o’clock in the afternoon of March 3.

- Mr-Adamff,;ni;addrcßsingthe jury, said tKat't]ie'Stateinertl?‘'.had>been ruled as ip-, adffiissible/buttbe position of -the charge, was practically -unchanged., They, had, toi eliminaffe-. the. statement, from their minds; . but theife < remained suffiidhnt verbal* eyif dence to;d'akfi.its .piace;: .'■The Crown Proge-. cutor: then> read, the sergeant’s report-’ oiP the conversation with ' the; accused.-' He’ held that the evidencejofearljr, established the, offence; w.ith .which’Vttye-' accused ‘.was dharged. V . ’’ c’-’V. -’ l . V -’■• -' Mr Hjorring, in addressing, the jury, said that because of : the seriousness of the case it must he fully satisfied that the charges had been proved up to the hilt. He drew the attention of the jury to the fact that the woman was 34 years of age, .was of. unimpeachable,character, and one who had not come into touch with the evil of the world. Whether she was a nervous ,or timid woman .was for. the jury-; to:say. If'-she_ bad had mo expprience of', the -world the jury must: regards her stpryi in the , light oi that’ fact, ‘for there “Was" grave .danger of exaggeration. She would be inclined ot make more of .the matter than, a woman who had had ordinary experience - , of the world. Counsel proceeded; to deal with what he considered were inconsistencies in the . evidence of the’ complainant. He was reluctantly compelled, he said,' to comment on the methods of, the police and the unfair manner in which they had to .ehjajn answers : £rom the Tlfe jury had been* fdld/iri; the r eyfdenhe of Sergeant /Xn.rper that at 11 o’clock on the morning following the alleged - offence he had interviewed the accused at his home. The sergeant said that-he was then fully satisfied that the’ accused was the man who had committed the offence, but he had taken a lengthy statement from the accused without once warning him that anything he might say might- be used in, evidence against , him. The same afternoon the accused had been confronted:with the woman, but not till then had the sergeant arrested him .and warned him. . What was the use of a warning at that’ time? Such methods called for the severest criticism. The duty of the police, was to bring criminals to justice, ■ and . not, to, 'incriminate ;• innocent .men.’ What, evidence was there to substantiate the charges? The; accused had not made, an indecent statement, and there was no evidence that he had had indecent intentions. The complainant, met a woman just after the. offence was alleged to have taken place, but she did hot make any suggestion that the accused bad attempted any immoral act. She had merely said that he had tried to.chokeher, There was no corroborative evidence. The, jury wotild be taking upon itself a very grave responsibility if it - convicted a man in the absence of such necessary evidence. There Was an entire absence of medical evidence to prove that the woman bad been knocked about. What evidence could have been more - difficult to refute? In summing up, his Honor said that in cases in which-there was no corroborative evidence it was -unsafe to convict, but even in the absence of such evidence the jury was entitled- to bring in a,verdict, of guilty. In this ease, there was corroboration of the young woman’s story. It had befcn established in the evidence that the- accused’ had taken a longer road than’ was- necessary. - It was for the jury to .say what was of- the accused. Intent was something which -existed- only in the mind. The members of the jury would havo'’’th eliminate ‘the., accused’s statement; from, their minds. , The statement should not have been taken unless the accused had been warned. The case was not complicated.’ The jury .would rent eniber that it had the safety of people in its hands, People did not ride in other peoples motor-■'■■fears, and the case was therefore, important. - The jury must be fully satisfied, however, before it convicted on one or other Of /the counts. The jury .retired at 2.55 and returned at 3.30 with a verdict of guilty on the charge of indecent assault. 'The prisoner was remanded until the. close of the ses--1 fiion for sentence. ALLEGED THEFT OF TOBACCO. Henry George :Parsons: and William Stewart Scott were ’charged with, on September 13, .1928,. and on various dates to December 10. stealing quantities of t oboe to and cigarettes, of a total value of £6O, the property of James Rattray and Son, Parsons being a servant oi the company. Scott was also charged with, knowing the‘same to be dishonestly obtained,’receiving from Parsons quantities of tobacco and-cigarettes, of a total -value of £SO. Parsons- and Scott were further conjointly charged.with knowing the same to have been dishonestly obtained, receiving from some, person unknown tobacco and cigarettes of a value of £SO. the property of James Rattray and Son. When asked how he pleaded, Parsons replied: Your Honor. I am in a bit of a fix. I have no. solicitor. I don’t agree with his reckoning of the case.’ and ho turned me down. I wish to ask few an • adjournment', His Honor: Have you had no opportunity of obtaining a solicitor? . Parsons replied in the negative. His Honor: First of all, how do you plead ?’, - . ; . . . Parsons: Not'guilty. ’ Scott, ’ for whom Mr C„ J. L. Whitt appeared, also pleaded not guilty, Mr Adams said he’would be very loth to force the accused’for trial, if he wanted .an to engage counsel. His difficulty was. that this was the only case they were ready, to go oh with that afternoon.. In the. cases against Clark and Duncan, Mr Hanlon was appearing, and he had left - for Timaru with the promise that lie.would.bo in court "bn the following clay. His Honort Did you try to get another solicitor-this morning? Parsons said he had a man at present trying to get one for him. His Honor; I cannot very . well send 3’ott for trial without giving you a.further opportunity of getting a solicitor. Would yon care for the court to appoint some solicitor to defend yon?

Parsons said he would rather get the man he had in mind. Mr White said the accused Parsons had discussed the matter with him. Parsons had informed him ’ that Mr J. S. Sinclair was being approached to see if he would take lip his defence. It was a pretty complicated case, with a tremendous amount of evidence. His Honor said ho would adjourn the hearing until later in the sittings. Parsons had better get counsel to act for him immediately. Both accused- would be allowed bail. )■;. The court adjourned until the following morning at 10 o'clock.