Police v Smith

This case involved an appeal by the Police against the acquittal of Mr Smith, who had been charged with money laundering contrary to s 138(2) of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act (CLCA). The dispute centred on the interpretation of the term "money" as it related to the property involved in the alleged transactions. The appeal was heard by S Doyle, David and Stein JJ.

The legal issues before the court were whether "money" as particularised in the charges encompassed intangible forms of currency, such as funds held in a bank account, or was confined to physical currency. The court also considered whether the prosecution's failure to amend the charges, despite being put on notice that the particularisation of "money" was disputed, should lead to the dismissal of the appeal.

The court reasoned that while the definition of "property" in s 130 of the CLCA was broad enough to include intangible forms of currency, the specific reference to "money" within that definition should be interpreted narrowly to mean only physical currency, such as coins and bank notes. This interpretation was based on the traditional common law understanding of money and the distinction drawn in the legislation between "money" and other forms of intangible property. Despite finding that the property in question was not "money" as particularised, the court noted that the respondent could have been convicted without amendment if the prosecution had not insisted on a case based solely on physical money. However, exercising its discretion, the court dismissed the appeal to avoid twice vexing the respondent, given the prosecution's persistent reliance on a narrow interpretation of "money" throughout the trial.