R v C, J; R v H, T

The applicants, Mr C and Ms H, sought an extension of time to appeal against convictions entered in the District Court in 2002, following their guilty pleas to charges of sexual offending. The applications were made over 10 years out of time. The applicants sought to withdraw their pleas, arguing that allowing the convictions to stand would constitute a miscarriage of justice, primarily due to allegations that illegally obtained evidence was relied upon and that their guilty pleas were coerced or resulted from harassment by their legal advisors.

The central legal issues before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia were whether the applicants should be granted an extension of time to appeal and, consequently, whether their guilty pleas should be set aside. This required the court to consider the principles governing the withdrawal of guilty pleas and the circumstances under which a miscarriage of justice might be found, particularly when an application for an extension of time is significantly out of time. The court had to determine if the applicants had demonstrated a satisfactory reason for the extensive delay and, if not, whether refusing an extension would result in a miscarriage of justice.

The court applied the principles established in *R v Wilkes*, which require consideration of whether legal advice was imprudent or inappropriate, whether the pleas were attributable to a consciousness of guilt, and whether the evidence demonstrates a question about the applicants' guilt. The court found that the applicants had failed to establish any of these grounds. Specifically, they did not demonstrate that their legal advice was inappropriate, nor did they show that their pleas were not a result of their consciousness of guilt. The evidence before the court was found to confirm the applicants' guilt. Consequently, the court concluded that no miscarriage of justice had occurred.

The court refused to grant Mr C and Ms H an extension of time within which to apply for permission to appeal and dismissed their applications.