McCarthy v The Queen

McCarthy applied to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory for bail pending an appeal against his conviction for a number of offences. The Crown opposed the application.

The primary legal issue before Refshauge J was whether McCarthy had established a strong ground of appeal against his conviction, which is a prerequisite for granting bail pending appeal under section 22(2) of the *Bail Act 1992* (ACT).

Refshauge J considered the grounds of appeal raised by McCarthy, which related to alleged errors in the trial judge's directions to the jury. After reviewing the evidence and the trial judge's summing up, His Honour concluded that the grounds of appeal were not strong. His Honour found that the directions given by the trial judge were adequate and that there was no substantial risk that the conviction would be overturned on appeal.

Consequently, the application for bail was dismissed.