R v Callaghan - [2021] NSWSC 842

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Callaghan [2021] NSWSC 842
Hearing dates: 12 July 2021
Date of orders: 13 July 2021
Decision date: 13 July 2021
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Harrison J
Decision:
Bail refused.

Catchwords:
BAIL – “show cause” requirement – where applicant has satisfied grounds for further release application – where material about proposed rehabilitation program is insufficiently comprehensive or reliable – where available evidence does not suggest a drug addiction which requires rehabilitation – “show cause” requirement not met – application for bail refused

Legislation Cited:
Bail Act 2013 (NSW) s 74

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Christien Callaghan (Applicant)
Crown (Respondent)
Representation: Solicitors:
Astoria Lawyers (Applicant)
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Respondent)

File Number(s): 2021/189112
Publication restriction: Nil

Judgment

HIS HONOUR: On 11 June 2021, Wright J heard and determined a release application by Christien Callaghan. His Honour dealt in commendable detail with Mr Callaghan’s application and concluded that Mr Callaghan had failed to satisfy his Honour that he had shown cause why his continued detention was not justified. For the sake of brevity, I gratefully adopt his Honour’s recitation of the factual background and submissions of the parties. A familiarity with his Honour’s analysis and reasons for judgment is therefore assumed for present purposes.
Mr Callaghan has now brought a further application for bail. In the circumstances, he is necessarily confronted with the terms of s 74 of the Bail Act 2013 which provides relevantly as follows:

74 Multiple release or detention applications to same court not permitted
(1) A court that refuses bail for an offence, or that affirms a decision to refuse bail for an offence, after hearing a release application is to refuse to hear another release application made by the accused person for the same offence, unless there are grounds for a further release application.
(2) …
(3) For the purposes of this section, the grounds for a further release application are--
(a) the person was not legally represented when the previous application was dealt with and the person now has legal representation, or
(b) material information relevant to the grant of bail is to be presented in the application that was not presented to the court in the previous application, or
(c) circumstances relevant to the grant of bail have changed since the previous application was made, or
(d) the person is a child and the previous application was made on a first appearance for the offence.

(4) …

Mr Callaghan contends that material information relevant to the grant of bail is now to be presented in this application that was not presented to the Court on the previous occasion. Having considered that further information, I am satisfied that it was not presented to Wright J or considered by him and that the s 74 obstruction to a further application is overcome.
Mr Callaghan now wishes to re-address the requirement that he show cause by reference to the fact that he has secured a…

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 Callaghan

Details

AGLC: R v Callaghan [2021] NSWSC 842
Case: [2021] NSWSC 842
Decision Date: 13 July 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the court involved the defendant, Callaghan, who had applied for bail. Callaghan was facing criminal charges, and the court was required to determine whether to grant him bail pending the outcome of his trial. The case was heard in the relevant Australian court, and the judge had to consider the merits of the application based on the evidence and arguments presented.

The legal issues before the court included whether Callaghan had met the requirements to show cause for his continued detention. Specifically, the court had to consider whether Callaghan had satisfied the grounds for a further release application, and whether the material provided about his proposed rehabilitation program was sufficiently comprehensive and reliable. Additionally, the court had to evaluate whether the available evidence suggested a drug addiction that required rehabilitation, and whether the "show cause" requirement had been met.

In considering these issues, the court noted that while Callaghan had satisfied the grounds for a further release application, the material provided about his proposed rehabilitation program was insufficiently comprehensive or reliable. Furthermore, the court found that the available evidence did not suggest a drug addiction which required rehabilitation. The court concluded that Callaghan had not met the "show cause" requirement, and therefore, his application for bail was refused. The court did not find it necessary to make any further orders in this regard.

Orders