SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 207, 26 May 1908, Page 11

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS. - YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. . The Criminal Sittings of - 'the Supremo Court worn resumed yesterday morning, Mr. Justice Chapman taking his sent at 10.30 o'clock. ■; ' - "ALLEGED THEFT OF A COURT : 'RECORD. • CHARGE WITHDRAWN. ; Anme Barrie was charged, with having on; , April 2 stolen a'"distress .warrant issued un- : dor tho:. provisions of the Courts' Act, 1893, .ip an action' wherein Woolf : Schwartz was plaintiff and prisoner was : defendant.-/ Mr. Wilford appeared on behalf of tho . prisoner," who. pleaded not guilty. - A /juryj ' of ' whom Mr. W. Urquhart, was appointed •foreman, . was .empanelled. ; H. ;D.: 8011, K.C., on. behalf of tho! prpwn, Vsaid .'that, unless His Honour could see any reason to the contrary, it was not proposed to : offer, any evidence. The prisoner., had -satisfied '..'the Crown that, although'..her: act was a wrongful one, .she had no intention fraudulently; to ■ convert the dooument to;-' her own use,. or • any- intent which ivould l bring'.'hervwithin . the' definition of the Act: . v; i;iHis,- Honour,,said the' Crown was' .quite,' .entitled'to. take the course which had been, suggested. He. had read the depositions;. ; which;; showed: that prisoner ' snatched the warrant.from: the hands 'of''.the'bailiff, but. only: with; the' i intention of him in the execution of his duty. The circutn;.stances ,were: not. such .as to . make out . a case;, that;. she •• had stolen the document for, the,- purpote'v of.'-, permanently . appropriating; it in, such' ai' sense as-,to constitute her act' a'fraiiduleht one'.' 1 As no. evidence would : no offered he would ask the jury to return a'verdict .of not;gui!ty." i The. 1 jury Returned .'a.verdict accordingly, .' and . tho 'prisoner , was, ;discharged. 'ALLEGED THEFT WITH VIOLENCE. • VERDICT .OF NOT GUILTY. . .Thos.lvane,. alias Hayes, alias Keenanj a young; mail; ywas' charged with having, on . April,-29,, robbed David Wishart of .£7 105., ! and; at rthe,, same; time;having used.personal : ' violence; towardshim;v' ; ; . , ' «' '• ,«!

■ Prisoner,., who was ; unrepresented .by counsel, .ploaded -not guilty.L'Thp following, jury was. empanelledW. Hopkirk .(foroman), . Walter TJrquhart,'' T. J.. .Roberts, AV. Styled, E. A. Oxley, F/S. Hay, W-H,. Staples, F. L. O'Connell, Peter v Miller, .P.- Beard, W: ' Large, arid! J. A. . Mngel.'■. ■ ( ■ . . ■ , ■ The Croivn Prosecutor briefly: outlined tho . facts -relied on. m support of the , charge. . ' Prosecutor,-who is a fireman, stated that ho.-.commenced, drinking on April 28.", Next . day ,he cashed: an order for wages for c £9 odd,. ai\d, whilst ( ho t was in a public.: con-, venlehce.the prisoner' caught . him by the . thr.oat : with one i hand, find with .the other took the 1 ,, amount ,jn . question from his pocket.: /At thettime'! prosecutor did not •think ; that- ho had been> , deprived of'"his ■money.. On .the following .day'prosecutor,' . who was in company with- a man named M'Phee, identified -prisoner as the'man who had robbed him. Upon being taxed with; : the': offence prisoner ran into a house in Taranakr Street, where he was arrested by a . constable. : At the. police, station prisoner said that ; prosecutor would suffer for having had him arrested:, ■■ • Ghas.ViKing. gave evidonco , that prior to' the ;robbory prosecutor, had on him between £7 and £8 ' Witness; wa,s; prossrexainined by the prisoner. b : Prisoner :.-HoW: -many drinks did I have that; day,?— Only a. few; about a dozen. (Laughter) , , , '•' , Charles, Capstick, barman at' the , ' f Albort ■ Hotelj» deposedf that, .when prosecutor complained - .that ,;ho had . been robbed lie ..appeared to be sober.- , „ i, -n;.-,'.'; ( Norman -stated. tha;t 'on the 'day; ■ .after the.:robbery was.alleged.to have been committed,prosecutor,' who was- in his com- • pany, ;- met prisonori in • Courtenay Place., Prosecutor ' said: .'.'That is the man who stolo my., monoy,"and prisoner replied, "Go away; ; you 'don't want to get - a man 'pinched.' ". Prosecutor caught hold of pri- '■ spner,i but; ,the. latter got away, and .went-, into a.boarding-house. ■ Witness and a coil-V stablo followed,: prisoner, ■ who. was given in chargo.■ . ■ ■;■ ■ . , ~ . :?Noi^Steyar't,'.who resides at,the board-.; ing-hojise in question,.! stated thqt when he . went,into his room prisoner came out. from , under his~ bod. ,

Constable ,Wright gave evidence that, on the,,way to. the police station in a cab, prisoner wanted to-fight He also denied that he had stolen the money. At,"the' police station - prisc.ier said to prosccutor;. "I did it, but, you will • suffer for this."'" .

; This concluded the case' for the Crown. : Prisoner/ :who addressed the jurv, contended .that. he was- not -guilty of the of : fence.- ■ t t:• - -

•His Honour briefly summed up. -'v. .The jury-, ;Who retired-iat -11.55, returned ■. -at - 3.20 to; seek advico -from the Court; : ■ The foicman said that .in the opinion of sonio;,members of 'the > jury -parte 'of 'the . evidence;: .jiv'erp- -'contradictory, .' and: thore were also., breaks in the chain of evidence. Owing;,to .-those defects, should prisoner get tho the doubt? i .- : His. Honour, pointed out that any substantial—nott: fanciful—doubt ns -to whether the "Drisoner/ivas.guilty should he .' resolved .prisoner's; favour. The matter, of. contradictions. and <breaks -in "the ovidenre . was entirely 7 .for 'the jury to deal with. 1 :- It was.rtho-julo -for a 1 Judge' to direct a'jury. foiled reasonable , doubt as 'to '• whethery tlio evidenco made out a case tho . prisoner-should; pet the benefit of the doubt.' - Two>.minute's later the jury, again-' re- . turned, and'ther,foreman announced l , that' they, had-unanimously arrived at a verdict of not guilty, . > - . r , . .The prisoner rwas thereupon discharged. A SERIOUS CHARGE. .JURY DISAGREE. TO BE RETRIED; : John- Hogan, la ' young, man, was charged withshaving at Brooklyn, on February 17, indecently :, assaulted a girl twelve s-ears of age., :..<•%, " ''.: 'Tile-prisoner, who was• represented by Mr. Wilford, pleaded not guilty. * Tho "following jury' were enpanellcd:—ll. J: Sutherland (foreman), W. Clenking, W. Johnson,' R. Robinson, Joseph ' Robinson! jun., C; H. Williams, A. Eller,' Robert Frood,'H. S. Barton, J. J. Davis, L. Clark, ' and Wm. . His Honour made an''order requiring the public to withdraw during the hearing of the case, and forbidding tho publication of tho .; evidence.The jury retired at 4.35 p.m., and at 8.40 p.m., no decision having been arrived atjiHis Honour sont for tho jurors. .Upon ..uemg interrogated as to whether they had ,agroed upon their Verdict, the foreman replied- in the riegativo, adding that there was .'no possible chanco of an "agree-ment.-being; arrived at. His Honour said that as there was no . prospect of an' agreement, the only course opimyto hifn' was to discharge the jury. I'Hmmnr- would,' he continued, have to bo . retried. 1 : ' , , ■ . ' , ■The Crown Prosecutor then applied for a ditto to-be fixed for the new trial, and His Honour said, that the re-trial would take place, during the current sittings on a date to' bc fixed this morning. . The Court then adjourned until 10 o'clock to-day. *" . .