Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions v Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited (No 6 - additional examination orders) [2021] FCA 1383

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions v Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited (No 6 - additional examination orders) [2021] FCA 1383

It would be contrary to the interests of justice to proceed to trial without pre-trial examinations of the J.P. Morgan witnesses because they were important prosecution witnesses; disclosure material concerning them had not been fully or properly disclosed at committal, limiting the accused's ability to examine them and explaining why some were not examined; the proposed topics were discrete, confined and appropriate; potential inconsistencies and the circumstances of statement preparation gave the accused a legitimate forensic purpose; the examinations would not delay the trial and were not opposed by the prosecutor.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
10 November 2021
Procedural Posture
Federal Crime and Related Proceedings / Interlocutory Application by Accused for Pre Trial Examination of Prosecution Witnesses, Determined on the Papers
Outcome
Interlocutory applications allowed; pre-trial examination directions made.
Legal Topics
['pre Trial Examination of Witnesses' 'examination Orders Under S 23 Cq(1) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (cth)' 'basha Witness Examinations' 'disclosure Material' 'interests of Justice']
['practice and Procedure' 'criminal Procedure'] ['pre Trial Examination of Witnesses' 'examination Orders Under S 23 Cq(1) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (cth)' 'basha Witness Examinations' 'disclosure Material' 'interests of Justice']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Federal Crime and Related Proceedings / Interlocutory Application by Accused for Pre Trial Examination of Prosecution Witnesses, Determined on the Papers

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether it would be contrary to the interests of justice to proceed to trial without the J.P. Morgan witnesses first being examined before the Court.' 'Whether orders should be made for pre-trial examination of witnesses who gave evidence at the committal hearing and witnesses who did not give evidence at the committal hearing.' 'Whether the proposed examination topics concerning J.P. Morgan internal investigation material and dealings between ACCC officers and witnesses in preparing statements were appropriate for pre-trial examinations.']

Ratio Decidendi

It would be contrary to the interests of justice to proceed to trial without pre-trial examinations of the J.P. Morgan witnesses because they were important prosecution witnesses; disclosure material concerning them had not been fully or properly disclosed at committal, limiting the accused's ability to examine them and explaining why some were not examined; the proposed topics were discrete, confined and appropriate; potential inconsistencies and the circumstances of statement preparation gave the accused a legitimate forensic purpose; the examinations would not delay the trial and were not opposed by the prosecutor.

Court Disposition

Interlocutory applications allowed; pre-trial examination directions made.

Orders

  • ['A direction be made that the following persons appear for examination before the Court on a date to be fixed, in relation to the topics identified in the annexures to the interlocutory applications filed by the First, Second and Fourth Accused filed 4 November 2021: Mr Mark Dewar; Mr Richard Galvin; and Mr Jeffrey...