CRIMINAL LAW – Application for bail pending second conviction appeal – Whether circumstances truly exceptional – Where applicant has several years of non-parole period left to serve – Comprehensive findings of fresh facts in reference determination – Findings of illegal and improper conduct by Nicola Gobbo acting as legal advisor – Issue whether global plea impugned by Crown non-disclosure – Prospects of success in combination with other matters amount to truly exceptional circumstances – Whether applicant an unacceptable risk – Availability of substantial bail guarantee and strict conditions including electronic monitoring – Unacceptable risk not established – Application for bail granted.
The applicant, Antonios Sajih Mokbel, seeks bail pending the determination of an application for leave to bring a second appeal[1] in respect of convictions relating to three drug offences described by the names of relevant police operations known as Quills, Orbital, and Magnum.
The convictions followed pleas of guilty to two charges of trafficking not less than a large commercial quantity of MDMA and methylamphetamine[2] (respectively, Quills and Magnum) and a further charge of incitement to import a commercial quantity of MDMA[3] (Orbital). The pleas were entered pursuant to an agreement with the prosecution that in exchange for such pleas, further charges relating to a series of other State drug offences known by police operation names Kayak, Landslip, Matchless, and Spake, were discontinued.
[3]Contrary to s 11.4(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The application for leave to appeal is made on the following grounds:
1.By reason of the following matters, the integrity of the Applicant’s pleas of guilty and convictions in each of Quills, Orbital and Magnum, were so impugned, and the proper administration of justice so compromised, as to occasion, in each case, a substantial miscarriage of justice:
(a)his long-time ‘barrister’, Nicola Gobbo, was at relevant times a registered informer for Victoria Police, and her conduct as an informer was primarily directed to achieving the conviction and imprisonment of her client, the Applicant;
(b)consistently with that design, Ms Gobbo did in fact inform on the Applicant while concurrently…
Grounds of appeal
[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.
[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.
[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.
Consideration
[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.
[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.
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AGLC
Mokbel v The King [2025] VSCA 62
Case
[2025] VSCA 62
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
In the case of Mokbel v The King, the applicant, a prisoner serving a sentence for various criminal offences, applied for bail pending the outcome of an appeal against his conviction. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The central issue was whether the circumstances of the case were truly exceptional, warranting the granting of bail. The applicant argued that the combination of his prospects of success on appeal, the findings of misconduct by Nicola Gobbo, and the availability of strict bail conditions, including electronic monitoring, constituted truly exceptional circumstances.
The court had to determine whether the applicant's circumstances were truly exceptional, considering the significant non-parole period he had left to serve, and whether he was an unacceptable risk to the community if released on bail. The applicant's prospects of success on appeal were influenced by the comprehensive findings of fresh facts in the reference determination and the issue of whether the global plea was impugned by Crown non-disclosure. The court also considered the availability of a substantial bail guarantee and the strict conditions proposed for the applicant's release.
The court found that the applicant's prospects of success on appeal, combined with the other matters, constituted truly exceptional circumstances. It was also determined that the applicant did not pose an unacceptable risk to the community if released on bail, given the strict conditions proposed, including electronic monitoring and the availability of a substantial bail guarantee. Consequently, the application for bail was granted.
The final orders included the release of the applicant on bail, subject to the strict conditions outlined by the court, pending the outcome of the appeal against his conviction. The applicant was also required to provide a substantial bail guarantee and adhere to the conditions of electronic monitoring.