Results.
6 judgments found.
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| November 1968 |
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A magistrate must seek clarification or amend a guilty plea where facts differ, and may not acquit under s.189 before trial.
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Criminal procedure — Guilty plea — If facts do not support charge, magistrate must seek clarification or amend plea (s.187(2)); acquittal under s.189 only after trial (s.188).
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29 November 1968 |
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Prevalence of public servant thefts justifies deterrent sentences; criminal courts must not act as debt collectors.
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Criminal procedure — Sentencing: prevalence of offence as factor supporting deterrent punishment; Criminal courts should not impose fines to recover victims' property — compensation governed by sections 162A and 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code; breach of trust by public servant.
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22 November 1968 |
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Whether monies accepted by a court clerk in breach of administrative orders constitute theft by a public servant under s248.
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Criminal law — Theft by public servant — Penal Code s248 — "came into the possession by virtue of employment" — acceptance in breach of administrative/standing financial orders does not negate s248 liability — plea ambiguity and confession.
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22 November 1968 |
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An adult African may validly make a will under the Wills Act, effective despite contrary customary law, and joint administrators were appointed.
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Succession — testamentary capacity of adult African; Wills Act 1837 — applicability to Africans; Validity of wills contrary to customary law; Administration of estates — appointment after renunciation by executor.
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12 November 1968 |
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Prosecution must rebut a defence raised in a post-incident police statement; onus of proof stays with prosecution.
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Criminal procedure — admissibility of post-incident statement as res gestae — defence of mechanical failure — prosecution's duty to negative defence — onus of proof remains with prosecution — trial magistrate's misdirection.
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1 November 1968 |
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Failure of local court justices to consider the accused's evidence vitiated the conviction.
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Criminal procedure — Local courts — Appellate review without undue technicality but intervention only for miscarriage of justice — Trial justices must consider accused’s evidence or statement (even under customary procedures) — Unsupported factual findings vitiate conviction.
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1 November 1968 |