Sherwood v The State of Western Australia

The case of Sherwood v The State of Western Australia involved an appeal against convictions for multiple sexual offences against two complainants. The appellant sought leave to appeal on the basis of an alleged delay of two years and four months in lodging the application, and also sought an extension of time to adduce new evidence. The legal issues before the court were whether the delay was justified by exceptional circumstances, and whether the proposed new evidence presented a reasonable prospect of demonstrating a miscarriage of justice or that the appellant was innocent. The court had to assess whether the new evidence could show that the appellant should not have been convicted or that there had been a miscarriage of justice.

The court determined that the delay in lodging the application for leave to appeal was not justified by exceptional circumstances. The appellant had not provided a satisfactory explanation for the significant delay in bringing the application. Furthermore, the court found that the proposed new evidence did not present a reasonable prospect of demonstrating a miscarriage of justice or that the appellant was innocent. The evidence was considered speculative and did not provide a compelling basis to conclude that the appellant should not have been convicted. The court concluded that there was no reasonable prospect that the Court of Appeal would reach a different outcome if the new evidence were adduced.

As a result of the court's findings, the application for extension of time was dismissed. The appellant's attempt to appeal the convictions based on the delay in lodging the application and the proposed new evidence was unsuccessful. The court's decision underscored the importance of timely applications for leave to appeal and the need for compelling evidence to demonstrate a miscarriage of justice or innocence.