Nadjowh v The Queen

The applicant, Nadjowh, sought leave to appeal against his conviction and sentencing. The dispute arose from an alleged error by the trial judge in allowing the trial to continue after the jury had been mistakenly provided with documents that were not in evidence. The applicant contended that the trial judge's subsequent directions were insufficient to remedy the risk of an unsafe verdict. The application was heard by Riley AJ.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether there was an arguable case for leave to appeal. This involved determining whether the trial judge erred in permitting the trial to proceed despite the jury's exposure to inadmissible evidence, and whether the directions given were adequate to mitigate any prejudice and prevent an unsafe verdict. A secondary issue concerned an application for bail pending the appeal, pursuant to section 23A of the *Bail Act 1982* (NT), which required consideration of whether special or exceptional circumstances were demonstrated.

Riley AJ found that there was an arguable case for leave to appeal, indicating that the grounds raised concerning the trial judge's handling of the evidentiary error and the sufficiency of directions had sufficient merit to warrant further consideration. In relation to the bail application, the court considered that a significant portion of the custodial sentence would likely be served before the appeal hearing, and coupled with the arguable prospects of success on appeal, these factors constituted special or exceptional circumstances. Consequently, leave to appeal was granted, and bail was granted pending the determination of the appeal.