When the appeal came op for hearing on February 27,, Mr Newman who appeared for the appellant at once abandoned the second of his grounds, which, he frankly admitted, was at best merely a statement of matters which could only oe invoked, if at all, as argument in aid of his first ground.
The case therefore, as stated in the grounds of appeal and as argued by Mr. Newman, resolved itself into this simple compass: that the learned trial Judge in his summing up, which was in every paragraph accepted by Mr. Newman as a complete and impeccable statement of law and of fact, had nevertheless misdirected the jury in that he had failed or omitted specifialy to draw the attention of the jury to that portion of the judgment of Viscount Sankey L. C. im Woolington versus the Director of Public Prosecutions (1925) A.C. 462 which is found at page 482 in that report in the following words:—
It (the Crown) may prove malice either expressly or by implication. For málice may be implied where death occurs as the result of a voluntary act of the accused, which is (1) intentional and (2) unprovoked. When evidence of death and malice has been given (this is a question for the jury) the accused is entitled to show by evidence or by examination of the circumstances adduced by the Crown that the act on his part which caused death was either unintentional or provoked. If the jury are either satisfied with his explanation, or, upon a review of all the evidence, are left in reasonable doubt whether, even if his explanation be not accepted, the act was unintentional or the prisoner is entitled to sonable doubt means tion has failed to di: of proof and that in ¢onsequence of that doubt in the mind of the jury the prisoner is entitled to an acquetta) at their hands, and thirdly that if upon a review of afl the evidence the jury are left ju able doubt whether, even if the prisoner's explanation be not a d, the act was unintentional or provoked, the prisoner is entitled to be acquitted.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.