“A GLIB LIAR”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 735, 7 August 1929, Page 1

“A GLIB LIAR”

GAOL FOR TAXI-DRIVER JUDGE’S STRONG COMMENT Strong comment on the disagreement of the jury at the first trial of Austin Walker, a 22-year-old taxi-driver, who was convicted on retrial yesterday of indecent assault and an indecent act toward little girls at Avondale, was made by Mr. Justice Ostler in the Supreme Court this morning. When Walker appeared for sentence, Mr. Noble appealed for leniency. Nothing- much could be said on behalf of a man who was convicted of this type of offence, counsel admitted. He argued, however, that if this case bore comparison, it did not seem to have been very bad. The extreme stupidity with which Walker had acted throughout indicated that it was more a medical than a legal case. Accused was only 22 and had never been in trouble before, and he could only throw himself on the mercy of the court, said counsel. “You have been convicted on what seems to me to be the clearest evidence of two crimes,” commented the Judge.

“How any jury could have had any doubt of your guilt,” his Honour said, “I cannot understand. I could not help thinking that there was one perverse man on the jury which disagreed. I postponed sentence yesterday because I felt angry at the glib manner in which you lied about the matters, and I felt I might give a sentence that the crime did not warrant.” His Honour could not see how he could avoid imposing a fairly substantial sentence, and he considered the interests of justice would be met by a term of two years' hard labour.