Jurisdiction : MAGISTRATES COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Coram: MAGISTRATE L J DIAS
File Number : PE 4856/2019 & PE 4857/2019
Catchwords:
Criminal law - Appeal against conviction - Commonwealth Criminal Code - Misstatement of the scope of the evidence of a witness - Intention not absence of belief - Irrelevance of mistake defence - No requirement to prove mistake on the balance of probabilities
Legislation:
Nil
Result:
Leave granted to amend grounds of appeal Leave to appeal granted in relation to one ground Appeal allowed Convictions quashed and the matters remitted to the Magistrates Court
On 13 December 2019, the appellant was found guilty of two charges of possessing a controlled drug contrary to s 308.1(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth) (Commonwealth Criminal Code). One of the drugs was LSD and the other MDMA. The learned magistrate imposed a global fine of $1,200.
The appellant seeks leave to appeal against the convictions.[1] The application for leave to appeal was ordered to be heard at the same time as the appeal.
[1] Although the Notice of Appeal indicated that the…
Grounds of appeal
[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.
[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.
[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.
Consideration
[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.
[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.
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Details
AGLC
Buckingham v Nuttall [2021] WASC 35
Case
[2021] WASC 35
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
Jared Kane Buckingham appeals against his convictions for possessing a controlled drug contrary to s 308.1(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth) (Commonwealth Criminal Code). The appeal is heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The appellant was found guilty after a trial in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia of possessing a controlled drug contrary to s 308.1(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. The appellant sought leave to appeal against his convictions. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal on one ground. The Supreme Court found that it was open to the magistrate to find that the appellant knew the drugs were in his possession. However, the Supreme Court found that the magistrate erred in finding that Mr Kormany's evidence was limited to having asked people to remove drugs and thinking that they had. The Supreme Court found that the error was such that the convictions should be quashed and the matters should be remitted to the Magistrates Court for a retrial.