R v Holland

Case [2008] QCA 200


SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v Holland [2008] QCA 200

PARTIES:

R
v
HOLLAND, Derry John
(appellant)

FILE NO/S:

CA No 360 of 2007
DC No 1340 of 2003
DC No 3338 of 2007

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Appeal against Conviction & Sentence

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED ON:

25 July 2008

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

13 June 2008

JUDGES:

McMurdo P, Keane JA and Fryberg J
Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the orders made

ORDER:

Appeal against conviction dismissed1.   

Application for leave to appeal against sentence refused2.   

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – MATTERS CONNECTED WITH CONDUCT OF DEFENCE – LEGAL REPRESENTATION – where the appellant was represented with the assistance of Legal Aid at the trial – where the appellant was advised on the morning of the trial that a new barrister had been engaged to represent him – whether there was evidence of any misconduct by counsel during the course of the trial – whether the appellant received a fair trial

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL AND INQUIRY AFTER CONVICTION – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – PARTICULAR GROUNDS – UNREASONABLE OR INSUPPORTABLE VERDICT – whether, on the whole of the evidence, the jury were reasonably entitled to be satisfied of the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt

CRIMINAL LAW – JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – VERDICT – where the appellant was charged with doing grievous bodily harm with intent to do grievous bodily harm – where when taking the verdict from the jury and administering the allocutus the associate described the charge in question as "doing a malicious act" – whether the verdict and conviction were affected by irregularity

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL AND INQUIRY AFTER CONVICTION – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE – APPEAL BY CONVICTED PERSONS – APPLICATIONS TO REDUCE SENTENCE – where the appellant was sentenced to five years imprisonment for the offence of doing grievous bodily harm with intent to do grievous bodily harm – whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive

Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld), s 317, s 320, s 648
Criminal Practice Rules 1999 (Qld), r 51, Sch 2

Kotsis v Kotsis (1970) 122 CLR 69; [1970] HCA 61, considered
Lilliecrapv The King (1905) 2 CLR 681; [1905] HCA 30, applied
M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487; [1994] HCA 63, applied
R v Brand[2006] QCA 525, cited
R v Clarke [2008] 2 All ER 665; [2008] UK HL 8, considered
R v Conway (2005) 157 A Crim R 474; [2005] QCA 194, cited
R v Dillon; ex parte A-G (Qld)[2006] QCA 521, cited
R v Livingston (No 2) [1933] St R Qd 175, considered
R v Lowe[2001] QCA 270, applied
R v Lowrie & Ross [2000] 2 Qd R 529; [1999] QCA 305, cited
R v Mitchell

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Details
AGLC
R v Holland [2008] QCA 200
Case
[2008] QCA 200
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Holland involved the appellant appealing against his conviction and sentence for grievous bodily harm with intent. The appellant had been represented with Legal Aid assistance during the trial and was informed on the morning of the trial that a new barrister would be representing him. The central issues in the appeal were whether the appellant received a fair trial given the late change in representation, whether the verdict was unreasonable or insupportable, and if the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive.

The court examined the circumstances of the change in legal representation and found no evidence of misconduct by counsel. It was determined that the appellant had not been prejudiced by the late change, and thus had received a fair trial. The court further assessed the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict and concluded that the jury was reasonably entitled to be satisfied of the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Additionally, the court found that the description of the charge by the associate during the verdict did not affect the verdict or conviction.

The court also reviewed the sentence of five years imprisonment, concluding it was not manifestly excessive given the nature of the offence. The appeal against the conviction was dismissed, and the application for leave to appeal against the sentence was refused. The final orders were that the appeal against the conviction was dismissed and the application for leave to appeal against the sentence was refused.

Orders

Orders of the court

Appeal against conviction dismissed1.

Application for leave to appeal against sentence refused2.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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