Brian Williams v R

• Jurisdiction: Jamaica
• Court: Court of Appeal (Jamaica)
• Judge: Panton P
• Judgment Date: 24 April 2012
• Neutral Citation: JM 2012 CA 35
• Docket Number: SUPREME COURT CRIMINAL APPEAL NO 15/2010
• Date: 24 April 2012

[2012] JMCA Crim 34

JAMAICA

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

Before:

The Hon Mr Justice Panton P

The Hon Mr Justice Morrison JA

The Hon Mr Justice Dukharan JA

SUPREME COURT CRIMINAL APPEAL NO 15/2010

Brian Williams

and

R

Ms Jacqueline Cummings for the applicant

Mrs Karen Seymour-Johnson and Miss Melony Domville for the Crown

CRIMINAL LAW - Illegal possession of firearm - Wounding with intent - Application for leave to file notice of appeal out of time - Identification - Credibility of Crown witness - Whether trial unfair - Evidence - Miscarriage of justice - Whether forensic evidence reliable - Whether sentence too harsh

Panton P

1 This applicant was convicted in the High Court Division of the Gun Court sitting at King Street in the parish of Kingston and sentenced on 10 December 2009 to terms of imprisonment of 10 years and 15 years respectively for the offences of illegal possession of firearm and wounding with intent with an order that these sentences are to run concurrently. The trial was presided over by Mr Justice Martin Gayle.

2 The applicant applied out of time for leave to appeal. The single judge granted an extension of time for the notice of application for permission to appeal to be filed. However, the single judge refused the application for leave to appeal and in that refusal the single judge indicated that the issues in the case were identification and the credibility of the Crown witnesses and these, he said, were adequately dealt with by the learned trial judge.

3 The applicant has, as is his right, renewed his application before us and today we heard submissions from Ms Jacqueline Cummings on his behalf and these were responded to by Mrs Karen Seymour-Johnson who, along with Miss Melony Domville, appeared for the Crown.

4 The applicant himself set out as his grounds of appeal thus: unfair trial, lack of evidence, miscarriage of justice. Ms Cummings expanded somewhat on those grounds by seeking leave, which was granted, to argue the question of the reliability of the forensic evidence and also the question of the sentence being too harsh.

5 So far as the facts of the case are concerned, the complainant herein, Miss Julian Hall, said that on the morning of 23 May 2007, she went to premises at Port Henderson Road in Saint Catherine to remove her furniture. She, apparently, used to live at those premises with her boyfriend and also the applicant and another man named “Chris”, as well as two other females. She went at approximately 6:00 o'clock in the morning to effect the removal of her furniture. Upon her arrival there, she spoke with Chris and then she saw the applicant, who is called “Bitters”, coming over the wall. When he came over, she enquired of him as to why he had thrown a stone and hit her fridge and smashed up her things. The response of the applicant, according to Miss Hall, was in these terms – “Hey gal, move from in front of mi”. Miss Hall, in defiant mood, advised him that she wasn't moving from in front of him because both of them did not have anything. Thereupon, the applicant, according to Miss Hall, boxed her and then used an iron board from off the bed and hit her on her head and on her back. She fell to the ground and then, according to her, she saw a guinness bottle which she took up, broke it on the wall and then chased the applicant and inflicted injuries on him with it. According to her, Chris himself had joined in and started to hit her with the iron. After this incident, the applicant left but returned not long after and drew a gun from his waist, fired at the complainant and injured her. She remarked, “Bitters shot mi, look how him shot mi and mi and him nuh have anything”. Whereupon, according to Miss Hall, the applicant said, “Gal, a dead yuh fi dead, yuh fi go suck yuh madda”. Eventually, Miss Hall was taken to the hospital and she remained there for two weeks receiving treatment. She had apparently received gunshot injury in the region of her back.

6 The applicant was held that day, and was seen with injuries resulting from the use of the broken guinness bottle on him. His hands were swabbed that very day with a view to examination being conducted to determine...