R v Hayne [2022] NSWDC 124

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Hayne [2022] NSWDC 124 Hearing dates: 21 March 2022 Date of orders: 21 March 2022 Decision date: 21 March 2022 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Bennett SC DCJ Decision: Application to transfer the hearing of the trial to Newcastle District Court is refused Catchwords: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — Trial — Change of venue Legislation Cited: Criminal Procedure Act 1986 Court Suppression and Non-Publication Orders Act 2010 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Regina (Crown) Jarryd Lee Hayne (Accused) Representation: Stephanie Lind (Crown Prosecutor)

Angela Cook (counsel for the accused on the application)

Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) (Crown) File Number(s): 2018/00355835 Publication restriction: No publication of the part of this judgement that deals with the conduct of those purporting to be supporters of the accused

REVISED EX TEMPORE JudgEment

Introduction 1. There is before me a notice of motion in the proceedings between the Crown and Jarryd Lee Hayne asking for orders that the proceedings be transferred to the District Court of New South Wales at Newcastle on the grounds that in accordance with Part 53 Rule 7(2)(a) District Court Rules 1973, the venue for the hearing of the proceedings in the case of a person committed for trial to the District Court sitting at a proclaimed place, should be that proclaimed place.

The History 1. The material in support of this application includes an affidavit by Ramy Qutami sworn on 4 March 2022 providing a history of the proceedings to which I shall refer for an understanding of how this matter has unfolded to its present stage. 2. The accused was committed for trial on or about 9 April 2020 to the District Court in Newcastle. His first trial was listed to commence on 23 November 2021 but the jury were unable to reach a verdict. As a result of the COVID-19 limitations there was a delay and the Newcastle District Court could not hear a second trial until late 2021 or early 2022. Subsequently, the parties agreed to a transfer of the proceedings to the District Court in Sydney for the trial to commence there on 8 March 2021. 3. The second trial resulted in a conviction and subsequent sentence in Newcastle where the trial judge, Judge Syme, was at that point sitting for a limited period on circuit. It is not unusual for judges who are required to leave their place where they normally sit to work on circuit to take matters with them if it means they can be resolved expeditiously by doing so. That appears to be what happened here. 4. The accused successfully appealed against the conviction or convictions to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The appeal was heard on 9 November 2021 and judgement handed down on 14 February 2022 quashing the convictions and ordering a new trial. The order of the Court of Criminal Appeal was to remit the matter to the District Court without specifying the venue to which it should be sent. The matter was listed in the Sydney District Court on 18 February 2022 which is not surprising in the circumstances when the trial was conducted in this jurisdiction.