Andrew George v The State

COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA IN THE COURT OF APPEAL CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 25 of 1991 BETWEEN: ANDREW GEORGE Appellant and THE STATE Respondent Before: The Honourable Chief Justice Floissac – President The Honourable Mr. Justice Byron J.A. The Honourable Mr. Justice Redhead J.A. (Ag.) Appearances: Mr. Ashton Piper for the Appellant Mr. Patrick E. Patterson for the Respondent 1992: March 10th. JUDGMENT FLOISSAC, C.J. The appellant was charged for beating Spencer George on the 16th October 1990 at Riviere Cyrique in the Parish of St.David. The Magistrate of District F tried the complaint together with a complaint that the appellant’s wife immediately therebefore had beaten the said Spencer George. The learned magistrate acquitted the appellant’s wife on the ground that she acted in self-defence but convicted the appellant and placec him on a bond to keep the peace and to be of good behaviour for a period of six months and in default thereof to come up for sentencing. The appellant has appealed against the conviction on the ground (inter alia) that is unsafe or unsatisfactory. For the following reasons, this court does find the conviction unsafe and unsatjsfactory:- (1) The temporal proximity of the assaults was such as to lead counsel for the respondent to submit that the assaults constituted one transaction. (2) If – as the evidence indicates – the assaults constituted one transaction, the defence or self-defence or defence of his wife should have been equally available to the appellant. (3) We have a lurking doubt that justice may not have been done by the conviction. The appeal is therefore allowed and the conviction and bond set aside. (Sgd.) V.F.FLOISSAC CHIEF JUSTICE (Sgd.) D. BYRON JUSTICE OF APPEAL (Sgd.) A.READHEAD < p style=”text-align: right;”>JUSTICE OF APPEAL (Acting)