The Gazette 1967/71

authorized to carry out street works wants to leave something in the roadway, they must dash off to the highway authority's office and get authority in writing, it is not difficult to see how impractical that requirement becomes." A. A. King Contractors Ltd. v. Page. Q.B.D. 16/4/70. Giving judgment on an appeal in which the applicant claimed that he did not have free choice in retracting a not guilty plea and pleading guilty, the Court made observations for the benefit of judges, consel and solicitors The principles in imposing life sentences were con sidered by the Court when setting aside a life sentence and substituting four years. Their Lordships allowed an appeal by lan Thomas Picker, now aged 19, who was sentenced to life imprisonment at Nottingham Assizes (Mr. Justice Willis) in July, 1967, after the jury had found him guilty of the manslaughter of William about so-called " plea bargaining". Regina v. Turner. C. of A. 24/4/70. Travel agents who stated in their holiday advertising brochure that the facilities offered at an hotel in Majorca included " all twin-bedded rooms, with private bath, shower, W.C., and terrace overlooking the harbour " but some of whose clients were given rooms without a terrace overlooking the harbour were held to be guilty of an offence under the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968. Sunair Holidays Ltd. v. Dodd. Q.B.D. 22/4/70. There is a right of appeal under section 30 of the Criminal Appeal Act, 1968, against an order for the payment of compensation under sections 28 (l) of the Theft Act, 1968. When the goods which are the subject of the charge are discovered in toto an order should not be made for the payment of compensation of other goads stolen. Regina v. Parker. C. of A. 14/4/70 Where applications for leave to appeal are made without arguable grounds, judges are to make wider use of their discretionary power to direct that part of the time the prisoner has spent in custody shall not count towards his sentence. The object is to reduce the delays, now unacceptable, caused by the rapid rise in the number of aoplications for leave, and to enable prompt attention to be given to meritorious cases by deferring the unmeritorious applications that stand in their way. Practice Direction. C. of A. 17/3/70. Family Where a guilty mother is given care and control of the children she should not be given maintenance on the basis_of what it would cost to look after them ; she should be given a sum which is reasonable in all the circum stances for her subsistence. Their Lordships so held when allowing an appeal by the father against an award by Mr. Justice Ormrod last month of f.io a week to the mother fcr maintenance. They varied the award to £7 los. a week M.S. v. M.S. C. of A. 20/4/70. An agreement made between a husband and wife after he had left her and had formed an attachment for another woman, to transfer to her the beneficial owner ship of the matrimonial home whe^e she and the children of the marriage were living was held to have been entered 134 Hcusden, aged 76, a woodman. Regina v. Picker. C. of A. 13/4/70.

1968. there was an application to the High Court for an order for Habeas Corpus but this was also refused. There was an appeal to the Supreme Court on I2th February 1968, and the Court ordered the case to stand over until I4th February, when the Attorney-General indicated he was prepared to allow accused to appeal against the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Supreme Court then allowed the appellant out on bail pending the hearing of the appeal. The Attorney-General's certificate was issued on igth February 1968, and stated that he desired the Supreme Court to consider two points of law:— 1. On an appeal against conviction and not against sentence, has the Court of Criminal Appeal juris diction to increase the sentence originally imposed ? 2. Where it appears that the trial judge and subse quently the Court of Criminal Appeal has been misinformed as to the exact details of the accused's previous convictions, should the sentence be varied? As to the first ground, the applicant relies on the unreported Supreme Court decision of " The State (Patrick Woods) v. Governor of Mountjoy ", which held that, where a notice of abandonment had been served, the Court of Criminal Appeal had no seisin or jurisdiction to vary the sentence. It is clear that the applicant here had only chosen to invoke the Court of Criminal Appeal as regards his conviction only, and accordingly that Court can only consider a limited appeal and has no jurisdiction to increase the sentence. The second point was not considered, because the applicant had already served more than the 12 months sentence imposed in the Circuit Court. So held by the Supreme Court (O'Dalaigh C. J., Walsh, Budd and Fitzgerald J. J.—McLoughlin J. dissenting). People (Attorney General) v. Earls—unreported—28th July 1969. Where a defendant is charged with stealing specified goods, the prosecution do not have to prove the theft of all of them, and to prove that he has stolen a specified part of them is sufficient. Machent v. Quinn. Q.B.D. 20/4/70. An inquiry agent questioning a person about adultery need not administer a caution, but if he does and is taken at his word no adverse inference should be drawn from the fact that his questions were not answered. Hathaway v. Hathaway. P. 30/4/70. The Court held that a suspended sentence cannot be brought into operation as a result of a conviction during the suspension period and in respect of which a sentence of absolute or conditional discharge or probation is pessed. If the magistrates' court wished to impose such a sentence they should commit the convicted person to assizes cr quarter sessions for the subsequent offence and the bringing into operation or not of the suspended local authority under a written contract had implied authority to deposit a metal skip container on the highway, and were not guilty of depositing it "without authoritv or excuse " in contravention of section 140 'l) of the High ways Act, I95Q, even though a motorist ran into it and was injured when it was unlighted. Mr. Justice Bean said : " There must be reason in all things, and if it is to be said that, every time contractors sentence could be dealt with together. Regina v. Tarry. C. of A. 24/3/70. Contractors carrying out street works for a