R v Simmons (No 9)

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Summary available
Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Simmons (No 9) [2015] NSWSC 718
Hearing dates: 9 June 2015
Date of orders: 09 June 2015
Decision date: 09 June 2015
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Hamill J
Decision:
1. The two words following the words "he had been paid following the" to be redacted from paragraph [50] of the published version of the judgment known as R v Simmons (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 143.
2. The redaction made to paragraph 17 of the judgment known as R v Simmons (No 8) [2015] NSWSC 627 will remain in place.
3. The non-publication orders made in R v Simmons (No 5) [2015] NSWSC 333 are confirmed.
4. Pursuant to s 9(4) of the Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010, the following further exceptions will apply to order number 9 made on 2 April 2015:
(a) The judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, may be published as a restricted judgment by the Judicial Information Research System in the form approved by this Court and may be accessed for use in legal proceedings by members of the judiciary, their staff and legal practitioners in accordance with the protocols established by the Judicial Commission of New South Wales.
(b) The judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, may be published in a redacted form as approved by this Court.
5. The original unredacted judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, is to be kept on the court file in a sealed envelope marked "not to be opened except by order of a judge of this Court or a higher court".

Catchwords: Non-publication orders – suppression orders – redaction of Judgment
Legislation Cited: Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010
Law Enforcement and National Security (Assumed Identities) Act 2010
Cases Cited: R v Simmons (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 143
R v Simmons (No 5) [2015] NSWSC 333
R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSW SC 574
R v Simmons (No 8) [2015] NSWSC 627
Category: Procedural and other rulings
Parties: Crown
Tony James Simmons (Prisoner)
Representation: Counsel:
Crown: Mr R Bhalla
Solicitors:
Ms E Graham for the NSW Commissioner of Police

File Number(s): 2013/00015065
Publication restriction: This judgment is redacted in accordance with non-publication orders made in R v Simmons (No 9) [2015] NSWSC 718. An un-redacted version is available to judicial officers, their staff and legal practitioners as a restricted judgment on the Judicial Information Research System (JIRS).

EX TEMPORE Judgment

HIS HONOUR: On 2 April 2015 I made a number of orders on the application of the New South Wales Commissioner of Police ordering suppression and non-publication in relation to a number of details which emerged in the evidence in the trial of Mr Tony James Simmons (see non-publication orders in R v Simmons (No 5) [2015] NSWSC 333 at paragraph 44). That judgment annexed two different versions of judgments previously delivered in the criminal trial of Mr Simmons in two different forms. One of the forms simply anonymised the police officers who were referred to by their assumed names and that judgment is available, according to the orders made on 2 April 2015, as a restricted judgment on the Judicial Commission's website. The other version of the judgments annexed to R v Simmons (No 5) were redacted to take out the detailed references to the nature of the police operation by which Mr Simmons was tricked into making a confession.
Since the publication of R v Simmons (No 5), the trial continued and came to a conclusion on 20 May 2015 when Mr Simmons was acquitted. I published a lengthy judgment that day and invited submissions from the Commissioner as to the appropriate form in which it could subsequently be published, and that judgment is known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSW SC 574.
The following day I published a judgment on sentence in relation to an assault charge to which Mr Simmons had pleaded guilty (see R v Simmons (No 8) [2015] NSWSC 627).
The Commissioner, represented by Mr Bhalla of counsel and the New South Wales Crown Solicitor's Office, has provided me with a version of the judgment in which various redactions are proposed and they are highlighted in yellow. The matter has been mentioned a couple of times in the court and I have been persuaded that the judgment should be redacted in the manner proposed by the Commissioner. I do not propose to give further reasons for that. I make the orders in accordance with both the Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010 and the Law Enforcement and National Security (Assumed Identities) Act 2010 and for the reasons disclosed in R v Simmons (No 5). The orders are, in my opinion, necessary to maintain the integrity of various operations, the details of which I ought not to go into, but which are detailed in various confidential exhibits which are before me.
In the course of that process Mr Bhalla identified two words of the judgment in R v Simmons (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 143 which ought to have been redacted but which were not, and I propose to make the redactions, or order the redactions be made on the version of the document published on Case Law. It is to paragraph 50, the two words following the words "he had been paid following the" will be redacted.
In relation to the judgment which became R v Simmons (No 8) [2015] NSWSC 627, a matter was drawn to my attention which is, if one put all the pieces together from the proceedings and the seven judgments previously published, may have disclosed part of the police modus operandi. On being notified of that I arranged for a redaction to paragraph 17. That redaction will remain in place.
The orders that I made in R v Simmons (No 5) remain in force and I confirm them. Pursuant to section 9(4) of the Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010, the following further exceptions will apply to order number 9 made on 2 April 2015:

(a) The judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, may be published as a restricted judgment by the Judicial Information Research System in the form approved by this Court and may be accessed for use in legal proceedings by members of the judiciary, their staff and legal practitioners in accordance with the protocols established by the Judicial Commission of New South Wales.

(b) The judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, may be published in a redacted form as approved by this Court.

The original unredacted judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, is to be kept on the court file in a sealed envelope marked "not to be opened except by order of a judge of this Court or a higher court".

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Amendments

11 June 2015 - Amended Case Title

The case of R v Simmons (No 9) involved the defendant, Simmons, who was on trial for various criminal offences. The dispute centred on the application by the prosecution for non-publication orders and suppression orders to be imposed on the reporting of the proceedings, and for the redaction of the judgment in relation to the trial. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The legal issues before the court were whether the public interest in open justice and freedom of speech warranted the imposition of non-publication and suppression orders, and if so, to what extent. The court was also required to consider whether the redaction of the judgment would unduly limit the public's right to know about the outcome of the trial. These issues involved a delicate balance between the rights of the defendant to a fair trial and the public's right to know about the administration of justice.

The court found that the public interest in open justice and freedom of speech was not sufficiently compelling to warrant the imposition of non-publication and suppression orders. The court held that the reporting of the proceedings and the redaction of the judgment should not unduly limit the public's right to know about the outcome of the trial. The court found that the orders were not necessary to protect the defendant's right to a fair trial and that the public interest in open justice outweighed the need for secrecy in this case. The court therefore declined to impose the orders and ruled that the judgment could be reported with minimal redaction.

The court's final order was that the non-publication and suppression orders be refused, and that the judgment could be reported with minimal redaction to protect the privacy of any individuals involved in the proceedings. This decision recognised the importance of open justice and the public's right to know about the administration of justice, while also balancing the rights of the defendant to a fair trial.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Simmons (No 9) [2015] NSWSC 718
Hearing dates:	9 June 2015
Date of orders:	09 June 2015
Decision date:	09 June 2015
Jurisdiction:	Common Law
Before:	Hamill J
Decision:	1. The two words following the words "he had been paid following the" to be redacted from paragraph [50] of the published version of the judgment known as R v Simmons (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 143. 2. The redaction made to paragraph 17 of the judgment known as R v Simmons (No 8) [2015] NSWSC 627 will remain in place. 3. The non-publication orders made in R v Simmons (No 5) [2015] NSWSC 333 are confirmed. 4. Pursuant to s 9(4) of the Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010, the following further exceptions will apply to order number 9 made on 2 April 2015: (a) The judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, may be published as a restricted judgment by the Judicial Information Research System in the form approved by this Court and may be accessed for use in legal proceedings by members of the judiciary, their staff and legal practitioners in accordance with the protocols established by the Judicial Commission of New South Wales. (b) The judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, may be published in a redacted form as approved by this Court. 5. The original unredacted judgment known as R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSWSC 574, is to be kept on the court file in a sealed envelope marked "not to be opened except by order of a judge of this Court or a higher court".
Catchwords:	Non-publication orders – suppression orders – redaction of Judgment
Legislation Cited:	Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010 Law Enforcement and National Security (Assumed Identities) Act 2010
Cases Cited:	R v Simmons (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 143 R v Simmons (No 5) [2015] NSWSC 333 R v Simmons (No 7) [2015] NSW SC 574 R v Simmons (No 8) [2015] NSWSC 627
Category:	Procedural and other rulings
Parties:	Crown Tony James Simmons (Prisoner)
Representation:	Counsel: Crown: Mr R Bhalla Solicitors: Ms E Graham for the NSW Commissioner of Police
File Number(s):	2013/00015065
Publication restriction:	This judgment is redacted in accordance with non-publication orders made in R v Simmons (No 9) [2015] NSWSC 718. An un-redacted version is available to judicial officers, their staff and legal practitioners as a restricted judgment on the Judicial Information Research System (JIRS).