R v Foster; R v Foster; R v Regan [2023] NSWDC 549

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Foster; R v Foster; R v Regan [2023] NSWDC 549 Hearing dates: 15 – 18, 21 – 24 August 2023, 7 – 9, 24 November 2023 Date of orders: 8 December 2023 Decision date: 08 December 2023 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: J Smith SC DCJ Decision: See [68] Catchwords: CRIME – co-accused – historical sexual assault – Judge alone trial – amending the indictment after commencement of the trial – whether the Crown can rely on section 80AF of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) – ex officio indictment – whether there would be any injustice if the Crown were granted leave to amend the indictment at a late stage of the proceedings CRIME – what constitutes the ratio decidendi of a case – where legislation has changed during the period in which an offence was allegedly committed Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Criminal Legislation Amendment (Child Sexual Abuse) Act 2018 (NSW) New South Wales Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) Cases Cited: AC v R [2023] NSWCCA 133 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company v F H Faulding & Co Ltd [2000] FCA 316; 97 FCR 524 Brunner v Greenslade [1971] CH. 993 Farah Constructions Pty Ltd v Say-Dee Pty Ltd (2007) 230 CLR Hill v Zuda (2022) 275 CLR 24 Mabo v Queensland (No. 2) [1992] HCA 23; 175 CLR 1 McBride v Monzie Pty Ltd [2007] FCA 1947; 164 FCR 559 MJ v R [2013] NSWCCA 250 R v MAJW [2007] NSWCCA 145; 171 A Crim R 407 R v Rajendran [2010] NSWCCA 322; 206 A Crim R 316 Stephens v The Queen (2022) 273 CLR 635 Wu v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2000) 105 FCR 39; [2000] FCA 1817 Ying v Song [2009] NSWSC 1344 Texts Cited: J Stone, 'The Ratio of the Ratio Decidendi' (1959) 22 The Modern Law Review 597. New South Wales, Department of Justice, Child Sexual Offences Review Discussion Paper (2017) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Scott Foster (Accused) Shane Foster (Accused) Craig Regan (Accused) Representation: Counsel: K Henry (Crown Prosecutor) D Petrushnko (Accused Scott Foster) P Doyle (Accused Shane Foster) P Hogan (Accused Craig Regan)