PICTON MURDER

Hokitika Guardian, 9 December 1932, Page 5

PICTON MURDER

LEAVE GRANTED APPLICATION FOR NEW TRIAL. (Per Press Association Copyright.) BLENHEIM, December 8. At the Supreme 'Court to-day, leave wa s granted Mr Evan Parry, counsel for Edward Tarrant, who is under sentence of death for murder at Picton, to apply to -the Court of Appeal for a new trial,... and also to for the Court of Appeal questions of law. ,In . q his decision, Mr Justice Blair said,;'' -Mr Parry ha s ' filed two motions, the first under Section 446 of the Crimes Act, 'asking leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal’ for a trial on the grounds that the verdict was against the- weight of evidence. The second motion, under Section 442, asks me to reserve for the opinion of the Court' of Appeal the following questions : (1) Whether there was any evidence upon which the jury were entitled, in law, to find the accused guilty ? (2) Whether the conviction recorded should not be quashed accordingly? Or alternatively; (1) Whether the trial Judge wrongly directed the jury ; (a) Upon the evidence a«j to the time when the murder was committed; jb) in making - use of a «im ; le comparing the various facts alleged by the prose, cution to the strands of a cord, or to the' sticks in 'a faggot and (c) upon the question of whether there warf any evidence that the bank notes changed by the accused had belonged to the deceased. Flood. (2) Whether, a new trial should not he ordered accordingly. Mr Justice Bl*r said that it was the duty of th trial Judge to facilitate such applications, unless they were unarguable, frivolous, or improper. As some of the matters desired to be raised were not in any of these categories, h e thought he should grant leave to reserve as asked. - In regard to leave. to appeal for a new trial, the Judge said that, seeing that the other questions were being raised in any event, 'his opinion was that it was better to facilitate the defence in Taking questions which would not ordinarily b© subject to leave, because it was open to the defence, without leave, to move the Oourt of Appeal for special leave.' Accordingly he granteu both applications. . ,