Chen v R [2010] NSWCCA 224

Chen v R [2010] NSWCCA 224

The appeal against conviction failed because, despite some unnecessary and unfortunate passages in the summing-up, the trial judge gave an adequate s165 warning about Mr Huang's evidence, did not in substance preclude the jury from considering hypotheses consistent with innocence, and made sufficiently clear that the jury alone determined the facts and could reject any opinion of the judge. The sentence appeal failed because the appellant's role was substantially more serious than Mr Huang's, the sentencing judge was entitled to proceed on the basis of 333 transfers totalling $3,088,311, parity did not require a lower sentence, and a sentence of 16 years and 6 months before allowance for...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
08 October 2010
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal Against Conviction and Sentence / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Conviction and Sentence in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal
Outcome
Leave to appeal against conviction granted; appeal against conviction dismissed; leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal against sentence dismissed.
Legal Topics
['money Laundering' 'dealing With Money Intending It to Become an Instrument of Crime' 'evidence of a Person Criminally Concerned in Events Giving Rise to the Charge' 'jury Directions' 'unreliable Evidence Warning' 'leave to Appeal' 'manifest Excess' 'parity in Sentencing' 'proviso to S6 of the Criminal Appeal Act']
['criminal Law' 'criminal Procedure' 'evidence' 'sentencing'] ['money Laundering' 'dealing With Money Intending It to Become an Instrument of Crime' 'evidence of a Person Criminally Concerned in Events Giving Rise to the Charge' 'jury Directions' 'unreliable Evidence Warning' 'leave to Appeal' 'manifest Excess' 'parity in Sentencing' 'proviso to S6 of the Criminal Appeal Act']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

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

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the trial judge erred in warning and directing the jury about the reliability of Mr Huang's evidence." "Whether the trial judge's directions impermissibly removed from the jury's consideration legitimate hypotheses consistent with innocence." 'Whether the trial miscarried because the trial judge stated that he had formed an opinion about the case and because of an alleged lack of balance in the directions to the jury.' "Whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive, including by reason of parity with Mr Huang's sentence."]

Ratio Decidendi

The appeal against conviction failed because, despite some unnecessary and unfortunate passages in the summing-up, the trial judge gave an adequate s165 warning about Mr Huang's evidence, did not in substance preclude the jury from considering hypotheses consistent with innocence, and made sufficiently clear that the jury alone determined the facts and could reject any opinion of the judge. The sentence appeal failed because the appellant's role was substantially more serious than Mr Huang's, the sentencing judge was entitled to proceed on the basis of 333 transfers totalling $3,088,311, parity did not require a lower sentence, and a sentence of 16 years and 6 months before allowance for...

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal against conviction granted; appeal against conviction dismissed; leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal against sentence dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Grant leave to appeal against conviction.' 'Dismiss the appeal against conviction.' 'Grant leave to appeal against sentence.' 'Dismiss the appeal against sentence.']