Ohl v Tasmania

The Supreme Court of Tasmania, constituted by Wood J, Brett J, and Martin AJ, considered an application by Mr. Ohl for an extension of time to seek leave to appeal against his conviction. The core of the dispute concerned Mr. Ohl's assertion that he had grounds for appeal based on fresh evidence and alleged misdirection by the trial judge.

The Court was required to determine whether to grant Mr. Ohl an extension of time to file his appeal. This involved assessing the merits of the proposed grounds of appeal, specifically the alleged fresh evidence and the claim of misdirection, to ascertain if there was a reasonably arguable case that would justify permitting the appeal to proceed outside the usual time limits.

The Court found that the grounds of appeal, as presented, lacked sufficient merit to warrant an extension of time. The alleged fresh evidence was not considered to be of a nature that could have affected the outcome of the trial, and the arguments regarding misdirection were not persuasive. Consequently, the Court concluded that it was not in the interests of justice to grant the extension.

The application for an extension of time was dismissed.