Emmanuel v Augier

• Jurisdiction: St Lucia
• Judge: Wills, J.
• Judgment Date: 23 January 1961
• Neutral Citation: LC 1961 HC 1
• Court: High Court (Saint Lucia)
• Date: 23 January 1961
• Docket Number: Appeal No. 8 of 1960

Supreme Court of the Windward and Leeward Islands. Court of Appeal.

Wills and Taylor JJ.

Appeal No. 8 of 1960

Emmanuel

and

Augier

Appearances:

V. F. Floissac for appellant

W. L. Maclntyre Acting Crown Attorney, for respondent

Criminal law - Appeal against conviction — Unlawful wounding

Facts: The appellant was convicted of unlawfully wounding a woman contrary to section 150 of the Criminal Code 1957. The issue was whether the magistrate should have upheld the defence of “ autrefois convict” –

Held: That applying section 896 and 1279 of the Criminal Code to the facts and circumstances the conviction and sentence could not be sustained. Conviction and sentence set aside.

Wills, J.

1 The appellant appeared before the magistrate of the First District Court on 12 ^th September 1960, to answer a complaint made against him by the respondent for that the appellant on Wednesday the 29 ^th day of June 1960, at about 11.00 a.m. at Conway near the town of Castries, First Judicial District of this Colony, did unlawfully cause wounds to Jane Dubois, contrary to s. 150 of the Criminal Code of St. Lucia, 1957.

2 In the court below, the appellant and his counsel raised the special defence of “ autrefois convict”. This plea is set out at length in ss 893, 894, 895, 896 of the Criminal Code, in Book III, Part IV. By s. 1033 subsection (i) of the Criminal Code the provisions of Part IV of Book III relating to “indictments”, shall, so far as they are applicable thereto, apply to complaints preferred against offenders upon their trial before Magistrates.

3 The appellant was therefore entitled to rely on the plea of “ autrefois convict”. The facts upon which this complaint is based appear in the evidence given by the respondent; “I know Jane Dubois. I saw her at Port Police Station on 24 ^th June 1960, at 11.57 a.m. She made a report at the Station — she was bleeding from the forehead and her mouth was swollen and her left arm… I subsequently lodged complaint against him for causing wounds to Jane Dubois”.

4 The complaint was dated 7 ^th July 1960, and prayed for a summons against the appellant. At the hearing, the magistrate did not uphold the admission of counsel as regards the plea of “ autrefois convict” and proceeded to hear a the case. The appellant was convicted and fined.

5 In the case as presented by the prosecution, the principal witness was the woman Jane Dubois and her evidence related to one and only one incident between herself and the Appellant on 29 ^th June 1960, at 11.00 a.m. of the appellant.

6 She said, inter alia: – “a fight ensued in the shop — he then bit me on the head. That part of my head was bruised. He then hit me with stick on my arm. He hit me with a weight on my back. I was sent to Hospital. The bite on the head was not stitched, but I used to go, up all the time for dressing. It was bleeding, it was cut…”

7 The following evidence appears under cross-examination of the witness: – “I filed a case against the defendant for the same thing here. The case was heard on...