Pau v The Queen

PAU
v
THE QUEEN
[2021] HCASL 170
B31/2021

This application for special leave to appeal from a judgment of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland requires a substantial extension of time to proceed. A previous application for special leave to appeal from the decision by the applicant was refused (PAU v The Queen [2019] HCASL 15). The applicant seeks to bring this application in order to raise new grounds of appeal. The proposed grounds have no prospects of success. The application is an abuse of process. It would therefore be futile to grant the extension of time sought. The application should be dismissed.
Pursuant to r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

P.A. Keane J.J. Edelman

9 September 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In Pau v The Queen, the applicant seeks special leave to appeal a decision from the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland. The underlying case involves criminal proceedings, although the specific details of the offence are not elaborated upon in this summary. The applicant had previously made an application for special leave to appeal which was denied in 2019. The current application seeks an extension of time to appeal on new grounds, despite the earlier application being dismissed. The crux of the legal issues lies in the assessment of whether the new grounds of appeal have any prospect of success and if granting the extension would be an abuse of process.

The court was tasked with determining whether the application for special leave to appeal, accompanied by a request for an extension of time, should be granted. This involved evaluating the merits of the new grounds of appeal and whether they had a chance of success. Additionally, the court had to consider whether allowing the application would constitute an abuse of process, given the previous refusal of a similar application and the perceived futility of the current application.

The court found that the new grounds of appeal presented no prospects of success, and granting the extension of time would be an abuse of process. The court reasoned that the applicant's previous application for special leave had been dismissed, and there was no indication that the new grounds would fare any better. Furthermore, the court considered the application to be futile, thereby deeming it inappropriate to grant the extension of time sought. Consequently, the application for special leave to appeal was dismissed.

The final orders of the court direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application for special leave to appeal. This order was made on 9 September 2021 by Keane and Edelman JJ.

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

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