Tessa v The King

The applicant, Tessa, appealed against his conviction for obtaining property by deception and obtaining financial advantage by deception. Tessa had falsely represented that he would provide or arrange insurance, despite knowing he was not authorised or licensed to do so. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal, Victoria. The primary legal issues were whether the County Court had jurisdiction to hear the charges, whether the jury selection was subject to tampering, whether the judge erred in excluding evidence of alleged corruption of a regulator, and whether the judge’s instructions to the jury were permissible. The court also considered the applicant’s conduct during the trial and the alleged errors in sentencing.

The Court of Appeal found no jurisdictional errors in the trial court’s proceedings. It held that the County Court had the necessary jurisdiction to hear the charges and that there was no evidence of jury tampering or procedural errors in the trial. The court also rejected the applicant's claims that the judge had improperly excluded evidence of alleged corruption or given improper instructions to the jury. It found that the judge’s conduct was appropriate and that the instructions given to the jury were permissible under the law. The Court of Appeal further found no merit in the applicant’s arguments regarding the calculation of his sentence and the factual errors in the sentencing remarks.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the County Court. The applicant’s appeal was dismissed in its entirety. The Court of Appeal found no errors in the trial proceedings and no basis for reducing the sentence. The conviction and sentence stood as imposed by the County Court.