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R v Luscombe

R v Luscombe

Case [1999] NSWCCA 365 22 November 1999

Appeal

Jurisdiction

Statutory Interpretation

Criminal Law

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Reported Decision:
48 NSWLR 282
168 ALR 227

New South Wales

Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION: REGINA v LUSCOMBE [1999] NSWCCA 365

FILE NUMBER(S): CCA 60789/98

HEARING DATE(S): 01/07/99

JUDGMENT DATE:
22 November 1999

PARTIES :

Darryl Leslie Luscombe
Regina

JUDGMENT OF: Spigelman CJ; Dunford J; Adams J

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: District Court

LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : 98/12/0075

LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER: Dodd DCJ

COUNSEL: J Basten SC / A P Cook (Appellant)
J V Agius SC (Respondent)

SOLICITORS: Cashman & Partners (Appellant)
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW; jurisdiction of District Court; appeal against order made under s19B of the Crimes Act (Cth); STATUTORY INTERPRETATION; "manner in which dealt with"; Crimes Act s19B

ACTS CITED: Commonwealth Employees Corporation Act (1930-1954) (Cth)
Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)
Crimes Amendment Act 1982 (Cth)
Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth)
Crimes Act 1900
Crimes and Other Act (Amendment) Act 1974
Criminal Appeal Act 1912
Criminal Appeal (Crimes) Amendment Act 1979
Justices Act 1902
Justices (Appeals) Amendment Act 1988
Justices Legislation Amendment (Appeals) Act 1998
Justices Act 1890 (Vic)

CASES CITED:
Application of Pearson (1999) 46 NSWLR 148
Adams v Cleeve (1935) 53 CLR 185
Ah Yick v Lehmert (1905) 2 CLR 593
Bropho v Western Australia (1990) 171 CLR 1
Cobiac v Liddy (1969) 119 CLR 257
Griffiths v R (1976-1977) 137 CLR 293
Goward v The Commonwealth (1957) 97 CLR 355
Pearce v R (1998) 156 ALR 684
Peel v The Queen (1971) 125 CLR 447
R v Carngham (1978) 140 CLR 487
R v Ingraessia (1997) 41 NSWLR 447
R v Murphy (1985) 158 CLR 596
R v On Clinic Australia Pty Limited (unreported NSWCCA 6 November 1996)
R v Snow (1915) 20 CLR 315
R v Ward (1978) 148 CLR 584
R v Williams (1934) 34 SR(NSW) 143
Rohde v Director of Public Prosecutions (1986) 161 CLR 119
Seaegg v The King (1932) 48 CLR 251
The Queen v Murphy (1985) 158 CLR 596
Thompson v Mastertouch TV Services Pty Ltd (1979) 38 FLR 397
Wall v R; Ex parte King 7 Won & Wah On (No. I) (1927) 39 CLR 245
Williams v The King [No 1] (1933) 50 CLR 536
Williams v The King [No 2] (1934) 50 CLR 551

DECISION: The answer to the question is ‘yes'; Case remitted to the District Court to be dealt with according to law.

IN THE COURT OF
CRIMINAL APPEAL

60789/98

SPIGELMAN CJ
DUNFORD J
ADAMS J
Monday 22 November 1999

REGINA v Darryl Leslie LUSCOMBE

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has the right to appeal to the District Court against an order made by a magistrate under s19B of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) discharging a defendant against whom a charge is proved without proceeding to conviction, on the defendant entering into a recognisance to be of good behaviour for a specified period.
Properly construed, s19B(3)(b) confers on the Crown a right to appeal from the orders made under s19B(1)(c) and (d) and from the determination of…

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 Luscombe

Details

AGLC: Regina v Luscombe [1999] NSWCCA 365
Case: [1999] NSWCCA 365
Decision Date: 22 November 1999

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Luscombe involved a dispute in the District Court of New South Wales regarding the jurisdiction of the court to make an order under section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth). The appellant, Luscombe, was appealing against the order made by the District Court under section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth), which deals with the manner in which an offender is dealt with. The legal issues before the court were whether the District Court had the jurisdiction to make such an order and whether the phrase "manner in which dealt with" in section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth) included the imposition of conditions on an offender's release on bail.

The court considered the statutory language and the context in which it was used. It was noted that the phrase "manner in which dealt with" was broad enough to encompass various aspects of an offender's treatment, including bail conditions. The court held that the District Court did have the jurisdiction to make an order under section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth) and that the phrase "manner in which dealt with" did include the imposition of conditions on an offender's release on bail. The court's reasoning was based on the interpretation of the statutory language and the purpose of the legislation, which was to provide flexibility in dealing with offenders in a manner that was appropriate to their circumstances.

As a result of the court's decision, the appeal was dismissed, and the order made by the District Court under section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth) was upheld. The court's interpretation of the statutory language and its understanding of the purpose of the legislation provided clarity on the jurisdiction of the District Court and the scope of section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth). The court's decision in this case will have implications for future cases involving the jurisdiction of the District Court and the interpretation of the phrase "manner in which dealt with" in section 19B of the Crimes Act (Cth).

Orders