香港特別行政區 訴 陳重誼及另十人

香港特別行政區 訴 陳重誼及另十人

Applications to consolidate were dismissed because the court found consolidation would cause unfair prejudice to defendants: insufficient time remained for effective preparation and for any newly assigned counsel to acquire instructions, several counsel had scheduling conflicts, prosecution's estimates of hearing length were optimistic, and COVID‑19 and court resource concerns compounded the risk of unfairness. The prosecution's assurances did not outweigh demonstrated prejudice and practical difficulties.

Citation
[2022] HKDC 344
Parties
Prosecution: 香港特別行政區; Defendants: 陳以諾; 羅曉峰; 蔡希霖; 杜俊興; 鄧子健; 彭永強; 陳杰風; 麥俊彥; 周浩泓; 葉自傑; 陳重誼; 譚浩鳴; 賴俊雄; 陳子朗; 莫德惠; 羅健熙; 林綺雯; 郭惠玲; 溫欣; 鄧卓儒; 陳卓賢; 陳亮儒; 鄭偉樂; 張綽元; 張凱; 馮興榆; 洪主龍; 黎鈞堯; 劉沛彥; 梁俊傑; 梁剛瑋; 雷曉天; 梅晉豪; 吳卓泓; 吳悅橋; 柯俊明; 安俊彥; 潘伊晴; 戴卓欣; 王智勇; 黃添樂; 余嘉晴
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
29 April 2022
Case Number
DCCC654/2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal — Consolidation Application / Pre‑trial Application to Consolidate Trials (written Determination)
Outcome
Both applications to consolidate the listed cases for joint trial are dismissed.
Legal Topics
Consolidation of Trials, Case Management, Unlawful Assembly, Riot, Possession of Offensive Weapons, Prejudice and Preparation Time
Source Language
CH
Criminal Law Procedural Law Public Order Offences Consolidation of Trials Case Management Unlawful Assembly Riot Possession of Offensive Weapons +1 more

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Parties

香港特別行政區

Prosecution

陳以諾; 羅曉峰; 蔡希霖; 杜俊興; 鄧子健; 彭永強; 陳杰風; 麥俊彥; 周浩泓; 葉自傑; 陳重誼; 譚浩鳴; 賴俊雄; 陳子朗; 莫德惠; 羅健熙; 林綺雯; 郭惠玲; 溫欣; 鄧卓儒; 陳卓賢; 陳亮儒; 鄭偉樂; 張綽元; 張凱; 馮興榆; 洪主龍; 黎鈞堯; 劉沛彥; 梁俊傑; 梁剛瑋; 雷曉天; 梅晉豪; 吳卓泓; 吳悅橋; 柯俊明; 安俊彥; 潘伊晴; 戴卓欣; 王智勇; 黃添樂; 余嘉晴

Defendants

Procedural Posture

Criminal — Consolidation Application / Pre‑trial Application to Consolidate Trials (written Determination)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the two sets of cases should be consolidated for joint trial
  2. 2 Whether consolidation would cause unfair prejudice to defendants by reducing preparation time or causing counsel unavailability
  3. 3 Whether public health (COVID‑19) risks and court facilities justify refusal of consolidation

Ratio Decidendi

Applications to consolidate were dismissed because the court found consolidation would cause unfair prejudice to defendants: insufficient time remained for effective preparation and for any newly assigned counsel to acquire instructions, several counsel had scheduling conflicts, prosecution's estimates of hearing length were optimistic, and COVID‑19 and court resource concerns compounded the risk of unfairness. The prosecution's assurances did not outweigh demonstrated prejudice and practical difficulties.

Court Disposition

Both applications to consolidate the listed cases for joint trial are dismissed.

Orders

  • The prosecution's application to join DCCC 854/2020 with DCCC 650, 651, 653, 654, 655 and 658/2020 for a single joint trial is dismissed.
  • The prosecution's application to join DCCC 755/2020 and DCCC 750/2020 for a single joint trial is dismissed.