13 Dec 2023
Evidence of the complainant's sexual experience with her now-deceased husband was admissible under s44 because it was directly relevant to the alleged joint rape, could not be separated from the behaviour alleged against the defendant, and its exclusion would be contrary to the interests of justice.
2 Nov 2023
Conviction quashed because the acquittal of a co-offender combined with material weaknesses and inconsistencies in the identification evidence (notably the unexplained absence of distinctive tattoos, discrepancies in eyewitness descriptions, and reliance on circumstantial CCTV timing) created a real risk of miscarriage of justice; discretion exercised to refuse a retrial in accordance with appellate authority.
7 Jul 2023
The appellant was granted an extension of time because the delay was satisfactorily explained and the appeal had obvious merit; trial counsel's closing was deficient to the point of causing a miscarriage of justice because the defendant's case was not properly put to the jury; the convictions for aggravated robbery and receiving were set aside; having regard to the appellant's circumstances, sentence served and fairness, no retrial was ordered; publication of deceased counsel's identifying particulars was prohibited.
21 Dec 2022
The Court declined to award costs because the successful appeal, even with a Crown concession of miscarriage of justice based on judicial misdirection, did not constitute the type of 'out of the ordinary' circumstances required to exercise the s 8 discretion in favour of the appellant; the retrial was aborted due to the complainant's unavailability for personal reasons unrelated to prosecutorial fault, and ordinary criminal appeals are most unlikely to attract costs orders.
4 Nov 2022
Absence of the Attorney-General's required consent under s18 rendered the charging document a nullity; s379 cannot validate a nullity; therefore the conviction was a miscarriage of justice and must be quashed with no retrial because there is no valid charge.
7 Sept 2022
Leave to appeal out of time was granted because the interests of justice favored review; the conviction was quashed because the trial judge's question trail failed to require proof of the defendant's state of knowledge at the time losses were caused and introduced irrelevant post-offending matters, and the Crown declined to seek a retrial because reparation was paid and the sentence effectively served.
7 Jun 2022
Section 230(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 treats a withdrawn election of trial by jury as if no election had been made and, having been amended by Parliament to reverse Jackson v R, means the High Court, not the Court of Appeal, is the first appeal court for this appeal; therefore the Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction and must dismiss the appeal.
18 May 2022
Fresh expert evidence that the appellant likely suffered from psychosis at the times of the offences, combined with the fact his guilty pleas were entered without advice of that defence and the cogency of the evidence, required the court to allow the out of time appeal, admit the evidence, set aside the guilty pleas and quash the convictions, with retrial left to prosecution decision.
1 Mar 2022
Counsel's failure to put the appellant's instructed defence to prosecution witnesses and lack of sufficient instructions rendered the trial unfair; accordingly the convictions were quashed and a retrial was directed.
8 Jun 2021
The Court found trial counsel's pre‑trial and trial conduct materially deficient and that those deficiencies created a real risk the verdicts were unsafe in respect of the grouped GST refund charges (charges 2–34). Convictions and sentences for charges 2–34 were therefore set aside and those charges remitted for retrial. The Judge's findings on the remaining charges (forgery/using forged document, trust GST evasion, failure to file returns/personal tax evasion, and dishonest AR590) were supported by the evidence and stand, so those convictions were affirmed and the existing concurrent sentenc…