Irene Rui Chen & Anor v State of New South Wales

IRENE RUI CHEN & ANOR
v
STATE OF NEW SOUTH WALES
[2017] HCASL 68
S5/2017

The applicants seek special leave to appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Leeming JA, McColl JA and Emmett AJA agreeing) rejecting an appeal from a decision of the District Court of New South Wales (Charteris DCJ) rejecting the applicants' claim for damages for malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, battery and assault. The matter is complicated by an earlier finding of the Court of Appeal when differently constituted (Chen v State of New South Wales [2014] NSWCA 41) that a police officer had deleted digital photographs of the arrest.
The applicants require an extension of time but an extension of time would be futile. Despite the concerns which arise as to the proper administration of justice in circumstances where a police officer is found to have attempted to destroy photographic evidence, there is insufficient reason to doubt the correctness of the Court of Appeal's conclusion that the trial judge's factual findings concerning the arresting police officers' reasonable use of force are sustainable and sustained independently of the conduct of the police officer who deleted the photographs. In those circumstances, an appeal to this Court would not enjoy sufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave.
Pursuant to r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

G.A.A. Nettle
30 March 2017 M.M. Gordon

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Irene Rui Chen and another versus the State of New South Wales involved the applicants seeking special leave to appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. This decision had rejected the applicants' appeal from a decision of the District Court of New South Wales. The applicants' claim was for damages related to malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, battery, and assault. The Court of Appeal, consisting of Leeming JA, McColl JA, and Emmett AJA, had upheld the District Court's decision. The applicants also sought an extension of time for their application, but such an extension was deemed futile.

The legal issues before the court involved whether the Court of Appeal's decision was correct and if the factual findings concerning the arresting police officers' use of force were sustainable. The applicants argued that the police officer's deletion of digital photographs of the arrest was a significant factor, potentially undermining the integrity of the proceedings. However, the court had to determine if these findings were independent of the conduct of the police officer who deleted the photographs.

In its reasoning, the court found that despite the concerns raised by the deletion of photographic evidence, there was no reason to doubt the correctness of the Court of Appeal's conclusion. The court held that the trial judge's findings on the use of force by the arresting police officers were sustainable and independent of the conduct of the officer who deleted the photographs. Consequently, the court concluded that an appeal to the High Court would not have sufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave.

The court ordered that the Registrar draw up, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application for special leave to appeal. This decision was made pursuant to rule 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth).

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