R v Macdonald No. Sccrm-02-199

[2002] SASC 295

R  v  MACDONALD
[2002] SASC 295

Court of Criminal Appeal:  Doyle CJ, Wicks and Besanko JJ

1. DOYLE CJ, WICKS and BESANKO JJ:        This is an application for leave to appeal against conviction. A jury found the applicant guilty of the offence of unlawful sexual intercourse with a young woman aged 14 years. A Judge of this Court refused leave to appeal on the grounds set out in the Notice of Appeal. The applicant has requested that his application be considered by the Full Court and has requested that the Full Court exercise its power under Rule 15(8)(b) to order that the application be listed for oral argument. The Court orders accordingly. The Court has this morning heard submissions from counsel for the applicant and counsel for the director.

2. Having heard those submissions, the Court grants leave to appeal on ground 5 in the Notice of Appeal and in relation to that ground, on ground 1 in the Notice of Appeal. The Court refuses leave in relation to grounds 2, 3 and 4.

3. I wish to make it clear that by that order what we mean is that we are not granting leave to appeal on the ground that the verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory as such. We grant leave on the matters in ground 1 in relation to ground 5 because the matters in ground 1, which refer to suggested inadequacies in the complainant’s evidence, are the basis for the criticism of the warning which is the subject of ground 5.

4. Accordingly, leave to appeal is granted on ground 5 and in relation to ground 1. Leave to appeal is refused on grounds 2, 3 and 4.