Will v Brighton (No 2)

The appeal concerned orders made by Rothman J in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The applicant sought leave to appeal against those orders, with the grant of leave being conditioned on the applicant agreeing not to pursue an order setting aside the quashing of the respondent's conviction. The Court of Appeal was required to determine the appropriate orders to be made in light of this condition and the mixed outcome of the proceedings.

The central legal issues involved the court's discretion regarding the grant of leave to appeal and the subsequent determination of the appeal itself. Specifically, the court had to consider the implications of the applicant's agreement not to press for the setting aside of a specific order, and how this affected the appeal against other orders made by Rothman J. The court also had to address the disposition of the charges under s 530(1) of the *Crimes Act 1900* (NSW), particularly in circumstances where no express finding had been made regarding the mental element of those charges.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Bell P, Basten JA, and Simpson AJA, granted leave to appeal on the condition that the applicant did not press for the setting aside of order 3 of Rothman J's orders. The court then allowed the appeal against orders 2 and 4 made by Rothman J, and remitted the matter to the Local Court for determination in accordance with law. In exercising its discretion regarding costs, the court noted the mixed outcome of the proceedings and made no order as to costs of the appeal.