R v Wiggins (No 4) [2022] NSWSC 27

R v Wiggins (No 4) [2022] NSWSC 27

The trial date was vacated because, although there was public interest in trials proceeding and no guarantee that infection levels would be lower later in 2022, the cumulative features of this case made adjournment in the interests of justice: the inordinate procedural delay since 2013, multiple prior trials and listings, the accused being on bail so adjournment would not extend remand incarceration, the need for many non-Sydney witnesses to give evidence in person, the accused's private funding and approximately $800,000 already spent on his defence, and the real prospect that Omicron-related illness or isolation would cause repeated adjournments, a much longer trial or abortion of a...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 January 2022
Procedural Posture
Criminal Procedure Application to Vacate Trial Date Due to COVID 19 / Pre Trial Notice of Motion Heard Before a Further Jury Trial After Convictions Were Set Aside and a New Trial Ordered
Outcome
Application granted; the trial date of 31 January 2022 was vacated.
Legal Topics
['application to Vacate Trial Date' 'covid 19 Pandemic' 'jury Trial Delay' 'bail Conditions' 'interests of Justice']
['criminal Law' 'criminal Procedure'] ['application to Vacate Trial Date' 'covid 19 Pandemic' 'jury Trial Delay' 'bail Conditions' 'interests of Justice']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Procedure Application to Vacate Trial Date Due to COVID 19 / Pre Trial Notice of Motion Heard Before a Further Jury Trial After Convictions Were Set Aside and a New Trial Ordered

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the trial date of 31 January 2022 should be vacated because of the risk of COVID-19 disruptions and delay.' 'Whether vacating the trial date and relisting later in 2022 was in the interests of justice despite the substantial delay already incurred and the backlog of jury trials.' 'Whether the particular circumstances of the accused, witnesses, trial length, private funding and prior procedural history justified adjournment.']

Ratio Decidendi

The trial date was vacated because, although there was public interest in trials proceeding and no guarantee that infection levels would be lower later in 2022, the cumulative features of this case made adjournment in the interests of justice: the inordinate procedural delay since 2013, multiple prior trials and listings, the accused being on bail so adjournment would not extend remand incarceration, the need for many non-Sydney witnesses to give evidence in person, the accused's private funding and approximately $800,000 already spent on his defence, and the real prospect that Omicron-related illness or isolation would cause repeated adjournments, a much longer trial or abortion of a...

Court Disposition

Application granted; the trial date of 31 January 2022 was vacated.

Orders

  • ['The trial date of 31 January 2022 is vacated.' 'The matter is listed before R A Hulme J on 11 February 2022 for allocation of a further trial date.' "The accused's bail conditions to revert to those prior to the variation I made on 13 December 2021."]