The Court of Appeals was thrown into chaos yesterday when a prisoner's case was delayed for 90 minutes -- because he failed to turn up.

Larry Lavince Burgess, serving an eight-year jail term, yesterday began his appeal against conviction for possessing 250 grams of cocaine with intent to supply.

But the appeal hearing could not go ahead at 10 a.m. as scheduled when there was no sign of the prisoner.

Burgess' bid to clear his name finally got underway at 11.30 a.m., after Court of Appeals President Sir James Astwood ordered him to be collected from Westgate Correctional Facility at Dockyard.

Sir James said: "This is not an academic exercise. If any arguments are to be put forward, the appellant must be here to hear them.'' Burgess, 35, of Rockville Lane, Pembroke, arrived in court wearing a khaki prison uniform after a series of frantic phone calls by his lawyer Mark Pettingill.

Mr. Pettingill apologised to the court, saying Burgess had been under "a mistaken impression''.

But after a two-hour hearing, the panel of three appeals judges said they would retire to consider the appeal and give a decision within days.

Mr. Pettingill claimed Burgess' conviction should be quashed, arguing the trial judge had put pressure on a divided jury to reach a verdict.

The jury had been out almost five hours when Chief Justice Austin Ward told them they had "a responsibility to society''.

They returned an hour later to deliver a 9-3 majority guilty verdict.

Mr. Pettingill also said Burgess' conviction was "very confusing'' because he was found not guilty on a second charge of handling the cocaine with intent to supply.

Mr. Pettingill said: "It's impossible to possess without handling and the charges related to the same intent to supply.

"Mr. Burgess admitted simple possession of the drugs but there was no way he intended to supply it to anybody.'' Burgess told Police he was about to throw the cocaine in the trash when he was arrested in the 2001 Cuts Boutique clothes shop on Court Street, Hamilton, on June 5.

He had been carrying a plastic bag containing two packages of cocaine worth a total of $75,772.

During his week-long trial, Police said Burgess "acted nervously'' at the time of his arrest.

But Burgess said he was handed the drugs by a man in the shop bathroom -- and wanted to throw them in the rubbish when he saw drugs Police outside on the street.

The man who gave him the drugs, Jamaican-born former cruise ship wine steward Ernell Campbell, was handed a five-year sentence.

But he testified that Burgess had struck a deal with him to bring the drugs to Bermuda.

Burgess denied making the deal and said he had never seen Campbell before.

Mr. Pettingill added: "The jury may have reasonably concluded that Burgess was in possession but had no intent to supply.

"The judge never gave a direction that they could return a verdict on simple possession.

"That's why the verdicts were inconsistent -- and the jury's confusion possibly arose from the comments of the learned chief justice.'' The jury had been out for four hours and 40 minutes when Chief Justice Austin Ward told them: "You have a responsibility to society.

"If you fail to reach a verdict, the problem isn't going away. All I can do is order another trial and somebody else has to hear the case at expense to the state.'' Mr. Pettingill said: "That may be interpreted as some mild threat along the lines of: `You have got to reach a verdict'.'' Crown counsel Ms Charlene Scott said: "The jury were not pressured and were not threatened in any way.

"They still took an extra hour to come to their decision and there could have been no pressure because the chief justice said he would give more time.''