R v Songcuan [2022] NSWSC 1796

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Songcuan [2022] NSWSC 1796 Hearing dates: 7 and 8 November 2022 Date of orders: 8 November 2022 Decision date: 08 November 2022 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Campbell J Decision: Juror G is discharged for reasons of ill-health. Catchwords: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE – trial – jury – discharge of individual juror Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Rex (Crown) Engracio Songcuan (Accused) Representation: Counsel: A Robertson (Crown) B Royce (Counsel for the accused)

Solicitors: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Chidiac Lawyers (Accused) File Number(s): 2020/131543

extempore Judgment (revised) 1. The transcript will record that one of the expanded jury of fourteen jurors became unwell overnight, and although I do not have any medical evidence, I am of the view that the court officer has received and relayed to me credible and reliable information from a close relative of the juror, that it is unlikely that the juror will be fit to continue jury service in the near future. In the circumstances, where I have an expanded jury and the estimate for the trial is, in the way of these things, relatively short, I am of the view that juror G should be discharged and excused from further service on this jury. My order is, juror G is discharged for reasons of ill-health. 2. I have also discussed with counsel briefly whether there is any question about whether I should discharge the whole jury, given the circumstances, that is to say, that I have discharged juror G solely for health reasons, and it is unlikely, from what I have been told, with the nature of the condition, that any other member of the jury is likely to be affected, I can see no good reason to discharge the balance of the expanded jury. That is to say, I cannot see any possibility whatsoever of any miscarriage of justice occurring by continuing with thirteen rather than fourteen, and I therefore will continue the trial with the expanded jury of thirteen.