R v Cranston (No 25)
[2023] NSWSC 15
•27 January 2023
Supreme Court
New South Wales
- Amendment notes
Medium Neutral Citation: R v Cranston (No 25) [2023] NSWSC 15 Hearing dates: 18 January 2023 Date of orders: 27 January 2023 Decision date: 27 January 2023 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Payne JA Decision: Adjourn the trial until 6 February 2023.
Catchwords: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE – Trial – Adjournment
Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Crown
Adam Michael Cranston (Accused)
Lauren Anne Cranston (Accused)
Dev Menon (Accused)
Jason Cornell Onley (Accused)
Patrick Willmott (Accused)Representation: Counsel:
Solicitors:
P McGuire SC with J Paingakulam and C Tran (Crown)
J Stratton SC with H Blake (Adam Cranston)
TD Anderson SC (Lauren Cranston)
P Bruckner (Dev Menon)
WR Johnson (Jason Onley)
L Brasch (Patrick Willmott)
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
One Group Legal (Adam Cranston)
Greg Willis Criminal Defence Lawyer (Lauren Cranston)
Hardinlaw (Dev Menon)
Pure Legal (Jason Onley)
The Defenders (Patrick Willmott)
File Number(s): 2017/148697; 2017/148185; 2017/148776; 2017/149208; 2020/115291 Publication restriction: Not to be published other than to the parties until after the trials of each of the accused are completed.
JUDGMENT
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This trial commenced on 26 April 2022. In November 2022 it became clear that the trial could not conclude in 2022. I invited the jury to send me a note about their essential and pre-booked Christmas plans, which they did on 21 November 2022. On 19 December 2022, I received a further note from the jury which stated various dates and times in January 2023 in which jurors were unable to sit. The final sentence of that note stated:
“In addition, due to a family visit, a juror is unable to sit Mon 30 Jan to Fri 3 Feb inclusive.”
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At this time, it was unclear when the jury would be invited to retire and consider their verdicts. Given the length of the trial and the time of year, I informed counsel that I proposed to tell the jury that the requests in the note for days off in January, including the above, could be accommodated. That suggestion was not opposed by any party and I told the jury that their requests would be accommodated.
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Following the completion of closing addresses by each of the parties on 22 December 2022, I adjourned the trial until 10 January 2023. I completed my summing up to the jury on 18 January 2023 and invited the jury to retire to consider their verdicts that morning.
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As the jury had retired, I raised with the parties the desirability of ensuring that there be no lengthy breaks in their deliberations. I invited submissions about the desirability of my refusing to adjourn the trial between 30 January 2023 and 3 February 2023.
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For that purpose, on 18 January 2023, after the jury had retired to consider their verdicts, I circulated to the parties the following draft direction:
“Members of the jury, thank you for your continued consideration of the case today. You will reassemble at 9:30 tomorrow morning. As I have told you, I won’t require you to come into court unless there is a question you have asked which requires answering. You should continue deliberating when you are all together at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
I do need to say something about the times you will be required to be here to deliberate now that you have been invited to retire and consider your verdicts.
This is a new and obviously critical stage of the trial. The interests of the accused and the community in your completing your deliberations are simply too important for me to permit any lengthy breaks in your deliberations.
As I’ve told you, your deliberations will commence everyday at 9:30am and adjourn at 4pm save on Fridays where we will adjourn at 1pm. As I have told you, because of the medical needs of a juror that need be accommodated, we will adjourn at 1pm on 24 January.
Prior to Christmas, I received a note from you indicating that one of your number has “a family visit” occurring in the week commencing 30 January. I regret to say that circumstances have now changed as you have commenced deliberations. You should all plan your affairs on the basis that you will be deliberating usual hours during the week commencing 30 January, that is commencing at 9:30am every day and finishing at 4pm, except on Friday 3 February. I apologise, in particular to the juror involved, but having regard to the interests of the accused and the community in you completing your deliberations without lengthy delays and in your reaching a true and just verdict, I have determined that the court will be sitting as usual in the week commencing 30 January 2023.
You’re free to go now. Please reassemble at 9:30 tomorrow morning.”
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The giving of the above direction was opposed by the representatives of all parties except Mr Anderson SC, on behalf of Lauren Cranston, who submitted that I should give the direction at [5] above.
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The Crown submitted that the direction should not be given but that, rather, I should enquire of the jury whether the juror concerned would agree to sit for at least part of that week. It sought a direction in the following terms:
“Members of the jury, thank you for your continued consideration of the case today. You will reassemble at 9:30 tomorrow morning. As I have told you, I won’t require you to come into court unless there is a question you have asked which requires answering. You should continue deliberating when you are all together at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
I do need to say something about the times you will be required to be here to deliberate now that you have been invited to retire and consider your verdicts.
This is a new and obviously critical stage of the trial. The interests of the accused and the community in your completing your deliberations are simply too important for me to permit any further lengthy breaks in your deliberations.
As I’ve told you, your deliberations will commence everyday at 9:30am and adjourn at 4pm save on Fridays where we will adjourn at 1pm. As I have told you, because of the medical needs of a juror that need be accommodated, we will adjourn at 1pm on 24 January.
Prior to Christmas, I received a note from you indicating that one of your number has “a family visit” occurring in the week commencing 30 January. As you have commenced deliberations, having regard to the interests of the accused and the community in you completing your deliberations without lengthy delays and in your reaching a true and just verdict, I ask you to reconsider the commitment during the week commencing 30 January. It would be preferable if possible for you to continue your deliberations during that week. Please write me a note.
I remind you that you should not feel under any pressure to reach your verdicts. Please take as long as you think you need.
You’re free to go now. Please reassemble at 9:30 tomorrow morning.”
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The Crown submitted that I should invite the jury to reconsider whether they have any ability to be flexible in the times that they sit during the week of 30 January 2023. If the jury responded in the negative the Crown submitted that I should allow the adjournment, lest I inadvertently put pressure on the jury to reach a decision before 30 January 2023.
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Mr Stratton SC, on behalf of Adam Cranston, also submitted that I should request that the jury give consideration to whether the entire week commencing 30 January 2023 need be taken off. Mr Stratton submitted that my direction at [5] above that the trial proceed may put undue pressure on a particular juror to return a verdict before 30 January 2023. Counsel for Mr Menon, Mr Onley and Mr Willmott supported Mr Stratton’s submission. They each submitted that the Crown’s amended direction should be given to the jury.
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I was reluctantly persuaded that on the basis that four of the accused and the Crown had together joined in opposing my proposal that the jury be required to sit during the week commencing 30 January 2023, I should give the direction essentially in the terms put by the Crown. I gave that direction to the jury on the evening of 18 January 2023. The following day, 19 January 2023, I received the following note from the jury:
“We have discussed the week of 30th Jan and the juror in question is unable to change her plans to accommodate the request to sit for any time during that week.”
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All parties submitted that in these circumstances, if no verdicts had been returned by then, I should adjourn the trial from 27 January 2023 until 6 February 2023. For these reasons I adjourned the trial on 27 January 2023 to 9.30 am on 6 February 2023.
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Amendments
21 March 2023 - Publication restriction lifted.
Decision last updated: 21 March 2023
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