Ewen v The Queen

The matter of Ewen v The Queen involves the applicant, Ewen, seeking an extension of time for a matter that has been considered futile. The appeal is from the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which involved Basten JA, Simpson, and Davies JJ. The applicant is appealing against the decision not to grant an extension of time. The central legal issue revolves around whether the High Court should grant special leave to appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeal's decision, and if the appeal would have sufficient prospects of success. Additionally, the court must consider if the appeal is a suitable vehicle to examine the operation of s 294AA of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW).

The court considered the application for special leave to appeal and assessed whether it had sufficient prospects of success. The Court of Criminal Appeal had previously found that the extension sought by Ewen would be futile. The High Court concurred with this finding, and thus determined that granting special leave to appeal would not be justified. The court also highlighted that the appeal was not an appropriate means to examine the operation of s 294AA of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW). Consequently, the High Court decided that the application should be dismissed.

Given the reasoning above, the High Court dismissed the application for special leave to appeal. The decision was made under r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), which directs the Registrar to draw up, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application. The order was signed by M.M. Gordon on 14 March 2018, and J.J. Edelman concurred with the decision. This outcome effectively ends Ewen's appeal against the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.