Steven Dural (a pseudonym) v The Queen

STEVEN DURAL (A PSEUDONYM)
v
THE QUEEN
[2021] HCASL 161
M27/2021

The applicant seeks special leave to appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria (Maxwell P and Beach JA) refusing an application for a review of the decision of Judge Murphy in the County Court of Victoria to decline a request for certification under s 295(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) in relation to his Honour's interlocutory decision not to disqualify himself on the grounds of actual or apprehended bias.
There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the Court of Appeal's decision. The applicant does not otherwise identify any question of principle which it would be in the interests of justice for this Court to consider.
Pursuant to r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

M.M. Gordon S.H.P. Steward

2 September 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Steven Dural (a pseudonym) v The Queen, the applicant sought special leave to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which had dismissed his application for a review of a decision by Judge Murphy in the County Court of Victoria. The applicant had requested certification under section 295(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) regarding the judge's interlocutory decision to not disqualify himself on the grounds of actual or apprehended bias. The application was made in the High Court of Australia, where the judges were required to determine whether special leave to appeal should be granted.

The legal issues the court was required to decide involved whether the Court of Appeal's decision was correct and if there was any question of principle that would be in the interests of justice for the High Court to consider. The applicant argued that the Court of Appeal's decision was incorrect and that there was a need for the High Court to review the matter. The primary focus was on the correctness of the Court of Appeal's decision and whether there was any significant legal principle that warranted the attention of the High Court.

The High Court judges found that there was no reason to doubt the correctness of the Court of Appeal's decision. The applicant did not identify any question of principle that would be in the interests of justice for the High Court to consider. Therefore, the judges directed the Registrar to draw up, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application for special leave to appeal. The decision underscored the importance of the correctness of the lower court's findings and the absence of any compelling reason for the High Court to intervene.

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