Nikolovski v R [2021] NSWCCA 327

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Nikolovski v R [2021] NSWCCA 327 Hearing dates: 8 October 2021 Date of orders: 30 December 2021 Decision date: 30 December 2021 Before: Payne JA at [1]; Fullerton J at [132]; Lonergan J at [250] Decision: 1. Leave to appeal granted; 2. Appeal allowed; 3. Quash the applicant's conviction; 4. Enter a verdict of acquittal. Catchwords: CRIME — appeals — appeal against conviction — miscarriage of justice — where Crown relied on evidence of [redacted] witness who had twice earlier been found by the Court of Criminal Appeal to be a witness who lacked credibility CRIME — appeals — appeal against conviction — unreasonable verdict — unreliable witnesses — whether on all of the evidence it was open to the jury to be satisfied of the applicant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 18(1)(a), 346 Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW), ss 5(1)(b), 5(1)(c), 6(1) Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 91, 138, 165 Cases Cited: AB (a pseudonym) v CD (a pseudonym); EF (a pseudonym) v CD (a pseudonym) [2018] HCA 58; (2018) 93 ALJR 59 Campbell v R [2014] NSWCCA 175; (2014) 312 ALR 129 Darwiche v R; El-Zeyat v R; Aouad v R; Osman v R [2011] NSWCCA 62; (2011) 209 A Crim R 424 Decision Restricted [2020] NSWCCA 256 Koloamatangi v R; Popovic v R [2020] NSWCCA 52; (2020) 282 A Crim R 160 Libke v The Queen (2007) 230 CLR 559; [2007] HCA 30 M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487; [1994] HCA 63 O'Hearn (formerly DAO (No 4)) v R [2021] NSWCCA 103 Pell v The Queen (2020) 268 CLR 123; [2020] HCA 12 Popovic v R; Hristovski v R; Bubanja v R; and Koloamatangi v R [2016] NSWCCA 202 R v Apostilides (1984) 154 CLR 563; [1984] HCA 38 R v Nikolovski & R v Wiggins (Supreme Court (NSW), Latham J, 30 October 2017, unrep) Ridgeway v The Queen (1995) 184 CLR 19; [1995] HCA 66 SKA v The Queen (2011) 243 CLR 400; [2011] HCA 13 Strickland (A Pseudonym) v Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (2018) 266 CLR 325; [2018] HCA 53 The Queen v Baden-Clay (2016) 258 CLR 308; [2016] HCA 35 Texts Cited: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) Prosecution Guidelines (March 2021) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Robert Nikolovski (Applicant) Crown (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: P Boulten SC with L-C Hutchinson and T Woods (Applicant) K Jeffreys (Crown)