CRIMINAL CASES IN SUPREME COURT IN 1947 SHOW DECREASE

Wanganui Chronicle, 15 January 1948, Page 4

CRIMINAL CASES IN SUPREME COURT IN 1947 SHOW DECREASE

Fees collected by the Supreme Court in Wanganui during the year ended December 31, 1947, totalled 11850 5s 3d compared with £1731 14s 6d. The Supreme Court sat in Wanganui last year on 15 days for criminal cases and 31 days for civil cases compared with seven and 22 days in the previous year. Three persons were convicted compared -with five in the previous year, three were acquitted (the same as 19461 and four were sentenced compared with nine in 1946. The following are additional statistics with the figures for 1946 in parentheses:—Writs of summons, 16 (17); civil cases before judge, 7 (5); civil cases before a common jury, 4 (2); motions for probate or letters of administration. 191 (241); chattel securities files, 555 (532); chattel satisfactions filed, 121 (121); appeal from inferior courts, 3 (2). Magistrate’s Court. In Wanganui, civil sittings of the Magistrate's Court were held on 64 days last year compared with 62 in 1946 and sittings for criminal cases were held on 121 days compared with 149 in 1946. Both last year and in 1946 there were 29 days on which sittings were held at which Justices of the Peace presided. Fees collected in the Magistrate’s Court during 1947 totalled £2386 16s 4d compared with £2318 .3s in 1946. Sixtysix sittings of the Children’s Court were held in Wanganui in 1947 and 83 in 1946.