Legal circles in February discussed the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal that the look on a judge's face is not a proper ground for appeal.
Counsel contended that "the meaning look'? on Mr. Justice Darling's face when summing up to the jury conveyed a great deal more than the actual words used.
This is the first time that the point has been raised in the Appeal Court, but the facial expression of a judge has more than once been a source of complaint.
Perhaps the most notable instance, writes a "Daily Chronicle" representative, was after the trial of William Palmer, the poisoner, at the Old Bailey in 1856.
Lord Chief Justice Campbell, who sentenced the prisoner to death, and one of his colleagues, Mr. Baron Alderson, were made the subjects of a scurrilous attack by the friends of Palmer. A pamphlet was circulated, supposed to be written by the Rev. T. Palmer, brother of the poisoner, but afterwards disclaimed by him, accusing their lordships of gross prejudice.
Influencing the jury by meaning looks was one of the principal counts in the indictment.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.