Chesham v R [2016] NSWCCA 206

Chesham v R [2016] NSWCCA 206

No miscarriage of justice was established. The judge-alone trial was sought by the applicant before the tendency ruling; no error appeared in admitting the tendency evidence and the trial judge ultimately disregarded it. The references to an unrelated matter, alleged legal representation difficulties, religion, audio-visual link evidence, and the Lindt café siege did not establish unfairness, bias, or miscarriage. The trial judge's rejection of self-defence and verdicts of guilty were open on the evidence, and the parole complaint did not disclose sentencing error.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
28 September 2016
Procedural Posture
Conviction Appeal and Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence / Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Outcome
Leave granted to the extent necessary for the appeal against conviction; appeal against conviction dismissed; leave to appeal against sentence refused.
Legal Topics
['assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm' 'robbery Using Corporal Violence' 'tendency Evidence' 'judge Alone Trial' 'audio Visual Link Evidence' 'unreasonable Verdict' 'self Defence' 'parole']
['criminal Law' 'evidence' 'sentencing'] ['assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm' 'robbery Using Corporal Violence' 'tendency Evidence' 'judge Alone Trial' 'audio Visual Link Evidence' 'unreasonable Verdict' 'self Defence' 'parole']

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Procedural Posture

Conviction Appeal and Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence / Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether admission of tendency evidence caused a miscarriage of justice or prevented a jury trial.' 'Whether the trial judge was prejudiced or apparently biased because an unrelated assault law enforcement officer matter was listed on the same day.' 'Whether difficulties with legal representation deprived the applicant of a fair trial.' "Whether the applicant's religion or wearing of a hijab affected the fairness of the proceedings." 'Whether the complainant giving evidence by audio-visual link from Korea caused unfairness or a miscarriage of justice.' 'Whether the verdicts were unreasonable or unsupported by the evidence, including in light of self-defence and DNA evidence.' 'Whether the Lindt café siege affected the fairness of the trial.' 'Whether alleged parole release failures disclosed sentencing error.']

Ratio Decidendi

No miscarriage of justice was established. The judge-alone trial was sought by the applicant before the tendency ruling; no error appeared in admitting the tendency evidence and the trial judge ultimately disregarded it. The references to an unrelated matter, alleged legal representation difficulties, religion, audio-visual link evidence, and the Lindt café siege did not establish unfairness, bias, or miscarriage. The trial judge's rejection of self-defence and verdicts of guilty were open on the evidence, and the parole complaint did not disclose sentencing error.

Court Disposition

Leave granted to the extent necessary for the appeal against conviction; appeal against conviction dismissed; leave to appeal against sentence refused.

Orders

  • ['To the extent necessary, leave be granted for the appeal against conviction.' 'Appeal against conviction be dismissed.' 'Leave to appeal against sentence refused.']