Leeming JA at [1]; Wilson J at [95]; Dhanji J at [96]
Decision:
Appeal dismissed.
Catchwords:
CRIMINAL LAW – appeal against conviction – appellant charged with one count of robbery with use of corporal violence and one count of perverting the course of justice – appellant convicted following Judge alone trial – whether compliance with s 133(2) of Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) – reasons did not identify elements of each offence – whether proviso applied – no substantial miscarriage of justice – appeal dismissed
Legislation Cited:
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 95(1), 112(1)(a), 312, 319
Counsel: I McLachlan (Appellant) D Scully (Respondent) Solicitors: Legal Aid NSW (Appellant) NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (Respondent)
File Number(s):
2020/173744
Publication restriction:
N/A
Decision under appeal
Court or tribunal:
District Court of New South Wales
Jurisdiction:
Criminal
Citation:
N/A
Date of Decision:
6 October 2021
Before:
Herbert DCJ
File Number(s):
2020/173744
HEADNOTE
[This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment]
The appellant, Mr Brett David Schoffel, was tried by the District Court constituted by 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.
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Details
AGLC
Schoffel v The King [2023] NSWCCA 88
Case
[2023] NSWCCA 88
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The appellant in this case was convicted by a Judge sitting alone of one count of robbery with use of corporal violence and one count of perverting the course of justice. The decision to appeal against the conviction was made in the High Court of Australia. The central issue in this case was whether the trial judge complied with the requirements of section 133(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) when delivering reasons for the appellant's conviction. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the reasons provided by the trial judge correctly identified the elements of each offence and whether the proviso to section 133(2) applied, which allows for non-compliance if no substantial miscarriage of justice occurred.
The court examined the reasons given by the trial judge to ascertain whether they identified the elements of the offences. It was determined that the reasons did not explicitly identify all the elements of each offence as required by the statute. However, the court considered whether the failure to comply with this statutory requirement led to a substantial miscarriage of justice. The High Court found that despite the non-compliance, there was no substantial miscarriage of justice in this case. The reasons provided by the trial judge were sufficient for the appellant to understand the case against him and to enable meaningful appeal. Therefore, the proviso to section 133(2) applied, and the appeal was dismissed.