ROSE v Regina

Case [2007] NSWCCA 17


New South Wales
Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION: ROSE v REGINA [2007] NSWCCA 17
HEARING DATE(S): 22 January 2007
JUDGMENT OF: Adams J at 1; Howie J at 7; Price J at 8
EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE: 22 January 2007
DECISION: Leave to extend time to file a notice of appeal is refused.
LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act 1900 s93G
Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999
PARTIES:

John ROSE (Applicant)

Regina (Respondent)
FILE NUMBER(S): CCA 2006/2071
COUNSEL: R A Herps (Crown)
No appearance for applicant
SOLICITORS: Ian Knight (Crown)
Applicant unrepresented
LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: District Court
LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S): 02/51/0012
LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER: Christie QC DCJ
LOWER COURT DATE OF DECISION: 21/08/2002

IN THE COURT OF


CRIMINAL APPEAL

2006/2071

ADAMS J


HOWIE J


PRICE J


MONDAY 22 JANUARY 2007


John ROSE v Regina
JUDGMENT

1 ADAMS J: The applicant entered pleas of guilty on 12 August 2002 to two counts of causing danger with a firearm contrary to s93G of the Crimes Act 1900, carrying the maximum penalty of imprisonment for 10 years, and one count of malicious wounding under s 35 of the Crimes Act 1900, carrying the maximum penalty of imprisonment for 7 years. He was sentenced on 21 August 2002 at Coffs Harbour District Court to an effective sentence of imprisonment for 6 years commencing on 27 February 2001, expiring on 26 February 2007, with a non-parole period of 4 years, expiring on 26 February 2005.

2 On 20 September 2002, the applicant filed a notice of intention to apply for leave to appeal against sentence. That notice expired on 20 March 2003. A notice of application for leave to appeal was not filed until 29 August 2006 and no application for an extension of time has been made. It is evident that the notice of appeal was filed out of time and the applicant requires an extension of time through which he wishes to file his notice of appeal.

3 On 10 April 2006, the applicant appeared in person before James J on an application under the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 for a direction to the Parole Board. That application was refused. It seems likely that the application to appeal against sentence, which was filed on 21 May 2006, is the result of his dissatisfaction with the decision of James J because in his submissions to this Court the only ground for complaint in respect of the sentence that he received was that the Parole Board refused to grant him parole following the expiration of his non-parole period.

4 The Court has been informed that the applicant was in fact released on parole on 19 October 2006. The Registrar of the Court wrote to him to both addresses provided by the parole authorities, asking the applicant to advise the Registrar of his intentions, but no response has been received to those letters.

5 The matter came on today. The applicant has been called twice outside the Court, both when the Court commenced hearings at 10am and at 12.50pm. It is apparent that the applicant is not here. I think the inference is inevitable that, having been granted parole, he no longer has an interest in the appeal which he lodged.

6 In those circumstances, I propose that leave to extend time to file a notice of appeal should be refused.

7 HOWIE J: I agree.

8 PRICE J: I agree.

9 ADAMS J: The order of the Court, therefore, is that leave is refused.

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Details
AGLC
ROSE v Regina [2007] NSWCCA 17
Case
[2007] NSWCCA 17
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of ROSE v Regina, the applicant, John Rose, had previously entered pleas of guilty to charges of causing danger with a firearm and malicious wounding. He was sentenced to imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years. After being released on parole, Rose sought an extension of time to file a notice of appeal against his sentence. The application for leave to appeal was filed well beyond the statutory time limit, and the applicant had not sought an extension of time prior to this application. The central legal issue before the Court was whether to grant the applicant leave to extend the time to file a notice of appeal against his sentence.

The Court of Criminal Appeal considered the statutory provisions under which the applicant sought leave to extend time, particularly section 93G of the Crimes Act 1900 and the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999. Given that the applicant had been released on parole and had not responded to communications from the Court, the judges found that he likely no longer had an interest in pursuing the appeal. This conclusion was reinforced by the fact that the applicant had not appeared in court despite multiple calls. The Court found that the applicant's motivation for the appeal seemed to stem from dissatisfaction with the parole decision rather than the sentence itself. Therefore, the Court decided that granting leave to extend time would not serve any useful purpose.

The Court of Criminal Appeal unanimously refused leave to extend time to file a notice of appeal. The judges were of the opinion that the applicant no longer had a genuine interest in pursuing the appeal and that the application was made in bad faith. The order of the Court was that leave to extend time to file a notice of appeal was refused.

Orders

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Background

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

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Ratio Decidendi

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