Regina v Noritaka Kawasaki - [2005] NSWSC 1298

CITATION:
Regina v Noritaka Kawasaki [2005] NSWSC 1298

HEARING DATE(S): 9 December 2005, 14 December 2005

JUDGMENT DATE :

14 December 2005

JUDGMENT OF:
Barr J at 1

DECISION:
Accused found not guilty of either of the charges by reason of mental illness. Accused to be detained in the psychiatric ward of the hospital at Long Bay Correctional Centre or such other place as may be determined by the Mental Health Review Tribunal until released by due process of law.

PARTIES:
Regina, Noritaka Kawasaki

FILE NUMBER(S):
SC 2005/1748

COUNSEL:
P Zahra SC
P Power SC

SOLICITORS:
Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales
S Kavanagh

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION:

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COMMON LAW DIVISION

GRAHAM BARR J

14 DECEMBER 2005

2005/1748 REGINA v NORITAKA KAWASAKI
JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: Noritaka Kawasaki has pleaded not guilty to two charges, namely that on 3 December 2004 at Avalon he murdered Wayne Lee Nolan and that at the same time and place he maliciously wounded Mark Glover. The accused has elected to be tried by judge alone and the Crown has consented. I shall explain when I review the psychiatric evidence why I consider that the accused has the capacity to make his election.

2 The Crown must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused did the acts which constitute the offences and that he had the requisite state of mind. The Crown and the accused have put before the Court a statement summarising the events about which they agree which led to the charges now being tried. Both sides have submitted that those facts suffice to prove the Crown case on each charge beyond reasonable doubt. In my opinion those submissions should be accepted.

3 The accused contends that he is not guilty of either charge because at the time of the events giving rise to them he was mentally ill and therefore not legally responsible for his actions. He must prove that it is more likely than not that that was so. If he does, the law provides for the Court to return a special verdict that he is not guilty by reason of mental illness.

4 The evidence shows that the accused is a single man born on 18 July 1977 and raised in Japan. In April 2004 he travelled to Australia and stayed in various places for various periods of time, principally in Queensland and on the North Coast of New South Wales. In about the middle of 2004 he moved to Avalon and began living in a hostel there. He had some experience in the use of cannabis. He had first smoked it while visiting Bali and Sri Lanka about two years earlier. He had used it occasionally in Japan. During his stay in Australia he smoked the drug in Noosa and in Byron Bay. However, he reported no ill effects from the use of the drug and appears to have experienced no mental disturbances.

5 At the Avalon hostel he met a…

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.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Regina v Noritaka Kawasaki and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2005] NSWSC 1298
Decision Date: 14 December 2005

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case Regina v Noritaka Kawasaki involved the accused, Noritaka Kawasaki, who pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering Wayne Lee Nolan and maliciously wounding Mark Glover. The trial was held in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, with Barr J presiding over the case. Kawasaki argued that he was not guilty due to mental illness at the time of the offences. The court had to determine whether Kawasaki was legally responsible for his actions and if he could appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts.

The court found that Kawasaki was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis, which led to persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations. The evidence from two psychiatrists, Dr Allnutt and Dr Nielssen, supported the defence that Kawasaki's mental illness impaired his ability to reason about the morality of his actions. Both psychiatrists concluded that Kawasaki's psychotic illness prevented him from appreciating that his acts were wrong. Consequently, the court accepted the defence of mental illness and found Kawasaki not guilty of both charges. The court ordered Kawasaki's detention in a psychiatric facility until released by due process of law.

Orders