Howson v Chief of Police

• Jurisdiction: Montserrat
• Court: Court of Appeal (Montserrat)
• Judge: Lewis, C.J.
• Judgment Date: 03 June 1971
• Neutral Citation: MS 1971 CA 1
• Docket Number: Magistrate's Criminal Appeal No. 6 of 1970
• Date: 03 June 1971

Howson

and

Chief of Police

Lewis, C.J. Lewis, J.A. Davis, (Acting), J.A.

Magistrate's Criminal Appeal No. 6 of 1970

Court of Appeal

Criminal Law - Appeal against conviction — Unlawful wounding.

Held: From the evidence of these witnesses, the Magistrate could rightly draw the inference which he did that the wounds of the corporal were inflicted by the appellant.

Facts: The appellant was charged with wounding corporal contrary to section 54 of cap. 74. The main ground of appeal was whether the evidence given on behalf of the witnesses for the corporal was reliable so as to found a conviction.

Lewis, C.J.

1 The appellant, Charles Howson, was charged with wounding Corporal Matthew contrary to section 54 of Cap, 74 of the Revised Laws of Montserrat.

2 The case against him was that while Corporal Matthew was arresting, or just after Cpl. Matthew had arrested one Peggy Skerritt and was taking her to the police station, the appellant and another man intervened and pulled Peggy Skerritt away from him, and that the appellant Howson then attacked the corporal, pushed him and struck him with a bottle in his face, throwing him to the ground, and then struck him with a store on his head and kicked him in his face, as a result of which he received wounds and was bleeding from his face.

3 This was the evidence of the corporal. Three witnesses were called in support. Anthony Lane gave evidence that he did see Howson there, and Howson's girl friend was pulling him away from Corporal Matthew and at that stage he was sent on an errand by the corporal. Then there was James Silcott who supported the evidence of the corporal in that he saw Howson thumping the corporal in his face, saw him knocked to the ground, and saw Howson kicking him in his face while he was on the...