Appeal for case to be heard upheld

The Constitutional Court, presided over by Mr Justice Geoffrey Valenzia, yesterday upheld a request by Raymond Caruana after he had felt aggrieved by a decision by the Criminal Court of Appeal which threw out his case when he failed to turn up on time.

The judge also upheld an appeal of the Attorney General, who had requested the confiscation of his Lm17,500 car.

The court noted that in September last year, Caruana had been found guilty of receiving stolen goods, evading duty and excise. He was condemned to pay Lm41,125 and was given a two-year jail term suspended for four years.

Both Caruana and the Attorney General appealed.

While Caruana asked for the court to change the part of the sentence where he was found guilty, the Attorney General requested that the court should also confiscate the car, valued at Lm17,500.

Both appeals were scheduled to be heard on December 16 but the accused failed to turn up on time and the court decreed that he had deserted the appeal. It upheld the Attorney General's appeal.

Soon after the court made its pronouncement, the accused turned up and requested his appeal to be appointed and heard. But the Court of Criminal Appeal turned this down on December 19.

He then filed a constitutional case and the Constitutional Court said the Court of Criminal Appeal was wrong when it decided that the appeal had been deserted without waiting for four days, as the law stipulated, during which time one could file an application to resuscitate an application that had been deemed deserted.

Hence, the Constitutional Court upheld Caruana's case and ordered the case to be sent back to the Court of Criminal Appeal so that the case would be decided.

Dr Roberto Montalto and José Herrera appeared for Caruana.