R v Hannan, Hannan, Gillis, Murrell and Hannan

In the case of R v Hannan, Hannan, Gillis, Murrell and Hannan, the applicants were charged with various offences including trafficking in dangerous drugs, specifically cannabis. Each applicant was alleged to be a vicious lawless associate at the time of the offences under the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013 (VLAD Act). The applicants sought a ruling under s 590AA of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) that the prosecution had not established they were vicious lawless associates at the time of the offending. The primary legal issue was the interpretation of the word group in the definition of association under s 3 of the VLAD Act, and whether the applicants constituted a group within the meaning of association.

The court considered the evidence provided by the prosecution, which indicated that Ben and Sarah Hannan were involved in the production and sale of cannabis. Scott Hannan, Nicholas Murrell, and Matthew Gillis assisted in these activities. The court found no evidence of a covenant or compact made between all five applicants, nor did they have common interests, which would have constituted a league. Therefore, the court concluded that the applicants did not constitute an association under the VLAD Act, and none of them was a vicious lawless associate for the purposes of s 7 of that Act. Consequently, the circumstance of aggravation in each indictment was not made out on the evidence.

The court ruled that each applicant was not a vicious lawless associate for the purposes of the VLAD Act. The parties were invited to make submissions as to the form of order to be made in each case.