OFF THE WIRE
BY: Phoebe Stewart
Source: abc.net.au
Australia - Two members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang who were jailed over a violent pub brawl have begun an appeal against their convictions.
Nicholas Frank Cassidy and James Scott Parnell Knight were found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault and sentenced to more than two years' jail last September.
The sentencing judge described the attack at the Airport Hotel in 2007 as "cowardly".
The court heard the fight was sparked from a comment about Cassidy's weight by a man in the pub who punched Cassidy.
A short time later, Cassidy returned to the pub with two men and Knight arrived with two men.
A violent brawl broke out, with two victims taken to hospital with facial injuries.
Cassidy and Knight are appealing against their conviction on the grounds that the sentencing judge failed to properly direct the jury in summing up the facts and charges in the case.
