THE CHEMIS CASE.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 1779, 16 October 1895, Page 2

THE CHEMIS CASE.

A NEW TRIAL REFUSED; - The Appeal Court opened this morning, only five cases being set down. The first taken Avas the appeal on behalf of Louis Chemis. Under the special Act of this session Mr Jellicoe applied for a new trial, on the ground that the evidence at <he former trial five years ago in the possession of prisoner’s counsel and evidence since discovered might have led the jury to a different conclusion, and secondly that the verdict was obt lined by unfair‘‘practices by two o? the Crown witnesses. It was pointed out, however, that the Act only enabled the application to be made on the ground that the verdict w&s against the weight of evidence, and the Court' ununimously held they could not look to anything outside ,this, hut only to the evidence at the trial. Mr Jellicoe therefore said he could not go on, and the Court refused the motion.

The special Act® under which the . motion was made, enables the Court of Appeal only to grant a now trial under section 416 of the Criminal Code Act of 1894, and that section provides merely for a now trial -on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. The Court directed the counsed to address argument to t His poiut, and Mr Jellicoe admitted that the|wording of the special Act confined him to Section 416, under which the evidence given at the trial could alone bo considered, but he submitted that the Legislature having the whole circumstances before it must ha-e intended that the evidence discovered since the trial should be gone into, that being the principal ground on which a new trial was claimed. He admitted, however, that the language of the Act was against this. . 1 -