CASE CHALLENGED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21246, 17 October 1940, Page 6

CASE CHALLENGED

QUESTION OF EVIDENCE REFERRED TO APPEAL COURT hearing adjourned till may Although the Grand Jury had found a true bill in a case which was to have been heard in the Supreme Court, Hamilton, yesterday afternoon, an argument on law was raised by counsel and considered by Mr Justice Blair in Chambers. The case was one in which Edward Norman, farmer, of Waitoa, was charged with the theft of four tons of fertiliser valued at £l7. It was decided by His Honour, on the motion of Mr J. F. Strang, who with Mr G. Foy, of Te Aroha, represented the defendant, to state a case for the consideration of the Court of Appeal on the question raised as to whether the accused should have been committed by the magistrate for trial, inasmuch as the magistrate had apparently relied upon the statement of a witness which was inadmissible as evidence. Apart from that statement, it was claimed, there had been no case to answer. Contention of Crown It was further contended on Norman’s behalf that the calling of the witness who had made that statement before the Grand Jury and the common jury would be irregular as not being in compliance with the provisions of The Crimes Act.

It was contended by Mr H. T. Gillies and Mr J. R. Fitzgerald, representing the Crown, that the procedure adopted was quite in order and in accordance not oniy with the Act but also with the well-established practice. As there is no sitting of the Court of Appeal until March, 1941, Norman was remanded to appear in the Supreme Court, Hamilton, at the sessions which open in May next year. He was admitted to bail on his own recognisance.