A trial judge's summing-up must be assessed as a whole rather than by isolating individual sentences or passages. Where no objection was taken at trial to directions now complained of on appeal, leave under Rule 4 will only be granted where the irregularity goes to the root of the proceedings and the applicant has lost a real chance of acquittal. Voluntary intoxication rarely operates to mitigate penalty for murder, and where an offender is aware of the disinhibiting effect of alcohol yet chooses to drink and drive, intoxication may be an aggravating rather than mitigating factor. The fact that a person will be in custody for the first time is unlikely alone to constitute special circumstances warranting a reduction in the non-parole period.
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