R v Michael Ross Penney No. SCCRM 96/374 Judgment No. 6071 Number of Pages 17 Criminal Law Evidence

The appeal was brought by Michael Ross Penney, who was convicted of attempting to murder his wife by setting fire to inflammable material in the boot of her vehicle. The prosecution case was based on circumstantial evidence. The appellant argued that the verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory, that the trial judge misdirected the jury on various matters of law and that the appellant was deprived of a fair trial by reason of alleged bias on the part of the trial judge. The court found that the evidence, when considered in its entirety, supported the verdict of the jury. The court also found that the trial judge's interventions during the trial did not amount to bias or unfair treatment of the appellant. The court held that the verdict of the jury was not unsafe or unsatisfactory and dismissed the appeal.