Dedeoglu v R [2022] NSWCCA 74

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Dedeoglu v R [2022] NSWCCA 74 Hearing dates: 25 March 2022 Date of orders: 08 April 2022 Decision date: 08 April 2022 Before: Bellew J at [1] Lonergan J at [2] Ierace J at [33] Decision: Application struck out for want of jurisdiction. Catchwords: CRIME – Bail – release application – proposed conviction and sentence appeal – preliminary question of jurisdiction to hear and determine release application – no appeal "pending" before the Court – no jurisdiction to hear application – on the assumption that jurisdiction did exist, s 22 test not met by applicant Legislation Cited: Bail Act 2013 (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) Criminal Appeal Rules 1952 (NSW) Cases Cited: El-Hilli and Melville v R [2015] NSWCCA 146 Kentwell v R (2014) 252 CLR 601; [2014] HCA 37 Mashayekhi v R [2021] NSWCA 55 Obeid v R (No 2) [2016] NSWCCA 321 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Onur Dedeoglu (Applicant) Regina (Crown) Representation: Counsel: Applicant in person A Morris (Crown)

Solicitors: Applicant in person Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown) File Number(s): 2021/00302374 Publication restriction: Nil

Judgment 1. BELLEW J: I agree with Lonergan J. 2. LONERGAN J: On 25 March 2021 the Court heard an application for bail filed by Onur Dedeoglu. 3. Mr Dedeoglu was convicted on 20 February 2020, after a trial by jury, of two counts of indecent assault in contravention of s 61L of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and one count of sexual intercourse without consent in contravention of s 61I of the Crimes Act. The offending of which he was found guilty involved an attack by Mr Dedeoglu, an uber driver, upon a sleeping 17-year-old girl whom he had been retained to drive home. 4. On 7 April 2020 Judge Noman SC sentenced him to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 8 years 6 months with a non-parole period of 6 years to start from the day of his arrest, 2 April 2019. 5. On 7 April 2020, the day he was sentenced, Mr Dedeoglu filed a Notice of Intention to Appeal against conviction and sentence. 6. He sought and obtained an extension to that Notice on 6 November 2020 to 12 February 2021. On 8 February 2021 he was granted a further extension to 12 May 2021. 7. A document, (which appears to be a failed facsimile transmission report) tendered by Mr Dedeoglu on his application for release before this Court, on its face suggests that there may have been an attempt on his behalf on 5 May 2021 to transmit his handwritten letter dated 4 May 2021. His 4 May 2021 letter stated that because Legal Aid "will not represent him", he has to find new representation or "do the appeal himself" and "..that's why I need to extend my expire (sic) date for lodge appeal, which ends at 12 May 2021." 8. Also tendered was a letter from Legal Aid dated 20 May 2021 advising Mr Dedeoglu of the refusal of Legal Aid for his proposed appeal and that his Notice of Intention to Appeal would have expired and cannot be renewed, although the letter suggested that an appeal could still be filed. 9. Mr Dedeoglu, in his handwritten "Additional Bail Submission" dated 14 March 2022, (not in an affidavit), asserted that he was told on 27 April 2021, (by what means is not specified), that Legal Aid would not represent him, and that a Mr Dowe of that office had said that "…he is going to extent (sic) my notice of intention to appeal time, which was going to expire on 12 May 2021". 10. No evidence was provided of any correspondence from the Court to the effect that an extension had been sought by Legal Aid or granted past 12 May 2021, and the effect of the Legal Aid letter of 20 May was that if the Notice of Intention to Appeal had already expired, "you can still write to the Registrar" and "if you do nothing, the Notice of Intention to Appeal will simply lapse". 11. On 16 June 2021 Mr Dedeoglu filed a Notice of Application for Leave to Appeal. He re-filed that application for leave to appeal with further grounds and written submissions on 29 July 2021. 12. The release application was filed on 22 October 2021. 13. Mr Dedeoglu's application for leave to appeal and the appeal itself are listed for hearing on 22 July 2022.