Jared Samuel Brown v The Queen

Jared Samuel Brown has appealed against his conviction for importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, namely methamphetamine. The matter was heard by the Court of Appeal in New South Wales. The applicant, Brown, sought an extension of time to appeal his conviction, which the Registrar had refused. Brown elected to have the application determined by the Court of Appeal.

The legal issues before the Court were whether the directions given to the jury regarding the evidence of Brown were deficient, whether Brown’s trial counsel’s admissions were a result of incompetence, and whether there was merit in Brown’s proposed grounds of appeal. The Court considered the directions given to the jury in light of the Jury Directions Act 2015 and found that the directions were orthodox at the time and not prejudicial. The Court also considered whether Brown’s trial counsel’s admissions were a result of incompetence and found that there was no evidence of incompetence. Finally, the Court considered the merit of Brown’s proposed grounds of appeal and found them to be without merit.

The Court found that Brown’s explanation for the delay in filing the application was unsatisfactory and that there was no merit in the proposed grounds of appeal. The Court refused the application for an extension of time to appeal. The Court applied the principles set out in R v Falzon and R v Oblach in reaching its decision.

No further orders were made by the Court.