JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 269, 6 August 1908, Page 8

JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACT.

INTERESTING POINT RAISED. • ' ,< ■: Eltham, August 5. .• A peculiar point cropped'up.atthe'Magis-. trate's Court to-day, when a lad was charged with making application for work in the Railway, Department and using the name and the birth certificate of his older brother, and. with forging ■ a school certificate. ; During ovidence it was stated by the master'of the Eltham School that the ; boy, was .16 years of age last July, since .the offence was .com-. mittcd. The police, had been acting on the assumption that he. was 19, and counsel (Mr. G.'P. Wake) had. taken the case at short: notice, arid' had • not: had time •to inquire as to : whether the lad should come under the Juvenile Offenders Act. *. •• Sergeant Haddrell (police) pointed out that the lad'had not come beforo'the Court till he was over IC, and he left to to the Magistrate whether the age-limit in the Juvenile Offenders' Act referred to tho time at which tho offence was committed or to the time of trial. Tho Magistrate (Mr. A. Turnbull, S.M.) said that if the boy was a juvenile offender, mischief had already been done owing to the case being heard in open Court. He adjourned the hearing to allow counsel'to look up authorities in support of his contention that the lad is a juvenile offender. When the Court 'resumed ' Mr. Turnbull said the Juvenile Offenders Act did not extend his power under the Summary Jurisdiction Act, and as'a magistrate could not try forgorv ho could not treat the accused as a juvenile offender. Accused pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.