Appeal Of Man Charged With Brother Dismissed
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a man who was jointly charged with his brother, saying “clearly he put brotherly love and family solidarity ahead of self-preservation” and “the defence he elected to advance was fairly put to the jury by the trial judge.”
In October 2015, Javon Weeks was sentenced to four years imprisonment following his conviction for wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and having a bladed or pointed object in a public place.
The Court’s ruling said, “Blood is thicker than water’ is the phrase which best reflects the underlying theme of the present appeal.
“The Appellant at trial [Greaves J, with a jury], where he was jointly charged with his brother Derek, conducted his defence in a manner which supported rather than undermined his brother’s defence, despite potentially significant differences in the cases against each of them.
“They were both convicted [by a majority of 9 to 3] on charges of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm contrary to section 305[a] of the Criminal Code [Count 1] and having a bladed or pointed object in a public place contrary to section 315C of the Criminal Code [Count 2], on July 1, 2015.
“On July 27, 2015, the Appellant filed a Notice of Appeal against conviction. Thereafter, the Appellant’s brother decided to accept responsibility for these offences and to assist the Appellant in the prosecution of the present appeal.
“Suffice it to say that it is not the function of a criminal appeal to reargue points which have clearly been placed before the jury for their consideration and which have been rejected by them.
“Far less is it possible to advance for the first time on appeal an obvious defence which could have been advanced at trial but which was not. It seems quite obvious that the Appellant could have invited the jury to find that even if his co-Defendant was guilty he was innocent.
“Clearly he put brotherly love and family solidarity ahead of self-preservation. The defence he elected to advance was fairly put to the jury by the trial judge.
“This ground of appeal also fails. For the above reasons, I would dismiss the appeal.”
The Court ruling follows below [PDF here]:
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