ERIC MAREO'S APPEAL

Chronicle (Levin), 11 April 1946, Page 7

ERIC MAREO'S APPEAL

-Press Association

TRIAL OF TEN YEARS AGO RECALLED

By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, April 10. The Court of Appeal today eommenced the hearing of aii appeal brouglit by Erie Marco under tlie Oriminal Appeal Act, 1945, against his conviction 111 iJ3.» of jnurdering his wife in Auckland. Eor Marco, counsel are Mr. A. C. A. Sexton and Mr. W. Eortimc, of Auckland, and counsel for the Crown are Mr. V. R. 8. Meredith and Mr. F. MeCarthy, of Auckland. Mr. Hexton, opening the case for Mareo, stated that, under Section 4 of the new Criminal Appeal Act, it was ground for an appeal that the verdict was unreasonable or could not be sup ported by evidence, or that on any ground tliere was a misearriage of justice. It differed from the previois law, as under the Orimes Act, 1908, the basis of any application for a new trcil was that the verdict was oue that 12 reasonable men could not liave found. Mr. Sexton pointed out that simitar Acts to our new Oriminal Appeal Act had operated in England and elsewhere for many years, and to Mr. Justice Fmlav, in reply to a question, submitted that the Court, having laid out the whole of the evidence, could determiue whether or not the verdict of the jury was unreasonable, or not supported by evidence. Iteferring to the statute to find the functions of ,the Court of Appeal in theso i-ases, Mr. Sexton submitted that tlu Court would quash the verdict if it were unreasonable or unable to be supported by evidence. The principle to guide the Court, said Mr. Sexton, differed from the rule in eivil appeals. It inust be asked if tlie 1 verdict was satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and the duty of the Court was ! to give the most careful eotisideration j to tlie- facts aml to satisfy itself tha; | tlie conviction sliould eitlier staiul or be ' quashed. j To the Cliief Justice, Mr. Sexton said 1 the ground of "misearriage of justice" i was relied 011 in tliis case only in respect I of police statements. On the facts, con tinued Mr. Sexton, if it could not be { proved that Mareo put veroual in the j inilk, all the other evidence for tlu i Crown case was of 710 avail. /There was i an aJleged adniission that he gave his | wife veronal earlier, but the Crown j rested its case on tlie milk episode. j Mr. Meredith: The Crown alleges the j administration of veronal 011 the Fridsiv | night, Saturday moriiing and Saturday J night. and has adduced a mass of evi ] dence in corroboratiou of tbese allega j tions. I Mr. Sexton: The only evidence the ] Crown can bring is in regard to a dose ' i 11 tlie milk, and the other question oi wliich the Crown made a lot is failure to call a doctor. At tliis stage, Mr. Meredith liandeci in to the Court sets of comparative extracts from the evidence of various witncsses. Mr. Justice Finlay: We are very in debted indeed to you, Mr. Meredith. (Tliere is an immcnse mass of rcorded i evidence before the Court in the form ! of 150 printed pages from tlie lirst triai and 375 tvpowritten foolscap pages ; from the seeoiul trial). j Mr. Sexton continued that tliere was • a substantial discrepaiicv be|wee: j Freda Starke's evidence in the twn 1 trials, and submitted that her evideii'n i in Court differed from her statements j to the police. "That is my substantial case," sun ! Mr. Sexton.