R v Brian Lee (No.3) - [2019] NSWSC 589

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Brian Lee (No.3) [2019] NSWSC 589
Hearing dates: 20 May 2019
Date of orders: 20 May 2019
Decision date: 20 May 2019
Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal
Before: Garling J
Decision:
1.   Order, subject to Order 2, that the following material is to be made available for access to those otherwise entitled to access the Court file:
(a)   Exh A, but not including the discs entitled “Allegation Video Footage and ERISP”;
(b)    Exh B;
(c)    Exh 1;
(d)    Written submissions of the Crown Prosecutor and counsel for the Accused.
2. Order pursuant to s7 of the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010, that the information specified below which is contained within Exh A, be suppressed and not published on the ground that it is necessary in the public interest for the order to be made and that public interest significantly outweighs the public interest in open justice.
   Specified Information:
   The CCTV of the Accused stabbing the deceased, Mr Klaus Petr, being the footage on the disc entitled “CCTV Compilation” and occurring between 1 minute 30 seconds and 2 minutes 7 seconds, and between 2 minutes 42 seconds and 2 minutes 59 seconds as that timing is displayed on the CCTV footage.
3.   Grant any interested party liberty to apply with respect to these orders.

Catchwords: CRIMINAL TRIAL – media access – application to access CCTV footage and video of the accused interview with police – open justice principle
Legislation Cited: Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010
Cases Cited: R v Brian Lee (No.2) [2019] NSWSC 586
Texts Cited: Not Applicable
Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Regina (Crown)
Brian Lee (Accused)
Representation:
Counsel:
A Robertson (Crown)
N Steel (Accused)
Solicitors:
Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Sydney Criminal Defence Lawyers (Accused)

File Number(s): 2018/00013154
Publication restriction: Not Applicable

EX TEMPORE Judgment (T.13)

In this case, the Court has found the Accused not guilty of the murder of Klaus Petr on the grounds of mental illness: R v Brian Lee (No.2) [2019] NSWSC 586.
The trial was conducted before a judge sitting without a jury. There was an agreement as to the facts of the case. There was no challenge by either party to the expert opinions of two forensic psychiatrists. No witnesses were called to give oral evidence.

Application for Access to Exhibits

Applications have been made by a number of media organisations for access to the Statement of Agreed facts, the CCTV footage attached to that Statement (which includes some footage of the stabbing of the late Mr Petr) and videos of the Accused being interviewed at the police station.
No representative of the media sought to be heard orally in support of these applications.

Submissions of the Crown

The Crown objected to part of the CCTV footage being made available. The part objected to includes a view (from two separate cameras) of the stabbing of the deceased by the Accused, the movements by the deceased immediately after that…

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.

Continue reading R v Brian Lee (No.3)

Details

AGLC: R v Brian Lee (No.3) [2019] NSWSC 589
Case: [2019] NSWSC 589
Decision Date: 20 May 2019

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Brian Lee (No.3) involved a criminal trial in which the applicant sought access to CCTV footage and video recordings of the accused's police interview. The application was made under the Open Justice principle, which is a fundamental principle of Australian law that ensures court proceedings are open to the public. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The primary legal issue for the court to decide was whether the CCTV footage and video recordings of the police interview could be made available to the media and the public. The applicant argued that the Open Justice principle required the footage to be accessible, while the accused argued that the footage should be withheld to protect his privacy and ensure a fair trial. The court had to balance these competing interests and determine whether the Open Justice principle required the footage to be accessible.

The court found that the Open Justice principle required the CCTV footage and video recordings of the police interview to be accessible to the media and the public. The court held that the Open Justice principle was a fundamental principle of Australian law, and that it was necessary to ensure that court proceedings were open and transparent. The court also found that the accused's privacy interests were not sufficient to outweigh the importance of the Open Justice principle. The court ordered that the CCTV footage and video recordings of the police interview be made available to the media and the public.

This decision reinforces the importance of the Open Justice principle in Australian law. It highlights the need to balance competing interests, such as the right to a fair trial and the right to privacy, with the fundamental principle of open justice. The decision also provides guidance to courts when considering applications for access to court records and proceedings.

Orders