SUPREME COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 February 1922, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

THE DUNEDIN SITTINGS. ' UAST OF CRIMINAL CASES By T«l«graph.—Preu AMorfatioa. Dunedin, Last Night. At the Supreme Court the crixninnl sittings were concluded to-day. Joseph Switalla was found guilty on a second count of assaulting his stembrother Jacob Switalla with intent to do bodily harm, and was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment. In a case against James Muir Fraser, (Jiarged with assaulting a girl with intent to commit rape, and on a second count with indecent assault, some rather unusual evidence was given. The ( hearing was a lengthy one and after a retirement of 25 minutes the jury brought in a verdict of not guilty. ii<- /Ulan Steven, who had pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of breaking, entering and theft (withdrawing his plea of not guilty entered on the occasion of his previous trial at Oamaru, when the jury disagreed as to Steven and acquitted Lindsay, who woe charged conjointly) came up for sentence. .Judge Sim agreed to accept the probation officers’ recommendation, though with some hesitation, as accused had been in trouble before for this crime. Accused would be admitted to three years' probation and on the Oamaru case 'to which he had pleaded guilty he was fined £5O. Steven submitted a statement of what occurred at Oamaru, and his Hqnor said that if this statement of the evidence given by the constable at Oamaru was true the verdict of not guilty in Lindsay’s case was a serious miscarriage of justice.