R v Noonan - [2002] NSWCCA 46

Reported Decision:
(2002) 127 A Crim R 599

New South Wales

Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION: Regina v Jeffrey Paul Noonan [2002] NSWCCA 46

FILE NUMBER(S): CCA 60718/00

HEARING DATE(S): 28/2/02

JUDGMENT DATE:
28 February 2002

PARTIES :

Jeffrey Paul Noonan (Appellant)
Regina (Respondent)

JUDGMENT OF: Beazley JA at 21; Bell J at 1; Smart AJ at 22

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: District Court

LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : 00/21/3070

LOWER COURT JUDICIAL
OFFICER : Goldring DCJ

COUNSEL : RJ Button (Appellant)
RD Ellis (Respondent)

SOLICITORS: Joanne Harris (Appellant)
S E O'Connor (Respondent)

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act 1900
Road Transport (General) Act 1999

CASES CITED:
Beresford v St Albans Justices (1905) 22 TLR 1
M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487
R v Taha and Yuksel (2000) 120 A Crim R 161
Regina v Olejrnik (1994) 36 NSWLR 567

DECISION: Appeal allowed; Appellant's conviction and sentence quashed and a verdict of acquittal substituted

60718/00

BEAZLEY JA
BELL J
SMART AJ
28 February 2002

REGINA v Jeffrey Paul NOONAN

Judgment

1 BELL J: On 10 July 2000 the appellant was arraigned on an indictment charging him that on 1 March 2000 at Minto being armed with an offensive weapon, namely a pair of scissors, he did rob Teresita Yaghooti-Fam of 2 hand-bags and their contents, being the property of Teresita Yaghooti-Fam. The offence is provided for by s 97(1) of the Crimes Act1900 (“the Act”). It carries a maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment. The appellant pleaded that he was not guilty. A jury was empanelled and, following a short trial, returned a verdict of guilty on 11 July 2000.

2 On 20 October 2000 the appellant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year and nine months, specified to commence on 18 September 2005. A non-parole period of one year and five months was fixed to expire on 17 February 2007. By notice of appeal dated 24 October 2000 the appellant appeals against his conviction and seeks leave to appeal against the severity of the sentence imposed upon him.

3 At about 6:50 pm on 1 March 2000 Ms Yaghooti-Fam alighted from a train at Minto Station. She left the Station and walked down Redfern Street turning left into Kent Street. She was carrying two bags, one over her shoulder and the other in her left hand. As she was walking she heard a car approaching from behind. The car stopped and a woman got out of the front passenger seat and approached Ms Yaghootie-Fam. The woman took hold of Ms Yaghootie-Fam’s shoulder bag and there followed a short tug-of-war between the two of them. Ms Yaghooti-Fam estimated this struggle had taken about two minutes. It concluded when Ms Yaghooti-Fam saw that the woman was holding a pair of scissors. The cutting blades of the scissors were covered in tissue paper. When Ms Yaghooti-Fam realised that her assailant was armed with a pair of scissors she loosened her grip on the shoulder bag. The female offender took…

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.

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Details

Case: [2002] NSWCCA 46
Decision Date: 28 February 2002

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal was asked to review a conviction and sentence of Jeffrey Paul Noonan, who was found guilty of armed robbery by a jury in the District Court. Noonan appealed against his conviction and the severity of his sentence. The case involved an armed robbery where the victim, Ms Yaghooti-Fam, was robbed of her handbags at knifepoint by a woman, later identified as Lee Noonan, and a man whose identity was not established. Noonan's de facto partner, Lee Noonan, was identified as the woman involved in the robbery, and Noonan was driving the car used in the crime at the time of his arrest. Noonan was found with scissors in the glove compartment of the car, which matched the description of the weapon used in the robbery. Noonan maintained his innocence throughout, claiming he was at a pub at the time of the robbery and only met Lee Noonan later that evening. The key legal issue was whether the evidence was sufficient for the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Noonan's guilt. The Court considered the short time lapse between the offence and Noonan's arrest, the presence of the car used in the robbery, the scissors found in the car, and Noonan fitting the description given by the victim of the male offender. However, the Court found the description of the male offender was too general to be probative, and the presence of the scissors in the car did not directly link Noonan to the crime. The Court concluded that there was a plausible alternative hypothesis that Noonan was not the driver at the time of the robbery, and thus the jury's verdict was not supported by the evidence. The Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction and sentence, and substituted a verdict of acquittal.

Orders