Hines v Commissioner of Police

The case of Hines v Commissioner of Police involves an applicant who participated in the 2012 Anzac Day parade in Brisbane, wearing various medals and ribbons on the left breast of a replica uniform. The applicant represented himself to be a returned veteran of the Vietnam conflict, leading to charges under the Defence Act 1903 (Cth). He was charged with falsely representing himself to be a returned soldier and improperly wearing service decorations that were not conferred upon him. Following his conviction in the Magistrates Court, the applicant was released on a recognizance order of $1,000 for the first charge and fined $500 for the second charge. Dissatisfied with the outcome, the applicant brought an application for appeal under s 222 of the Justices Act 1886 (Qld) in the District Court, which was subsequently dismissed.

The legal issues before the court were whether an appeal was necessary to correct a substantial injustice and whether there was a reasonable argument that there was an error to be corrected. The court had to examine the application for leave to appeal to the Queensland Court of Appeal under s 118(3) of the District Court of Queensland Act 1967 (Qld). The primary judge found that no error of law was shown in his reasons, and the court concurred with this assessment. The reasoning involved a thorough review of the evidence presented and the legal standards applied in the original proceedings.

The court held that no error of law was evident in the primary judge's reasons. Consequently, the application to adduce further evidence and the application for an extension of time were both refused. The applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs, of and incidental to the application, to be assessed on the standard basis. The Queensland Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the District Court, affirming the dismissal of the appeal.