R v Maxwell [2024] NSWSC 1576

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Maxwell [2024] NSWSC 1576 Hearing dates: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28 November 2024 and 2 December 2024 Date of orders: 04 December 2024 Decision date: 04 December 2024 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Cavanagh J Decision: (1) The accused is not guilty of the murder of Shane De Britt. (2) The accused is not guilty of participating in a criminal group and contributing to criminal activity. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – special hearing – murder – Crown case based on joint criminal enterprise or extended joint criminal enterprise – no dispute that deceased shot but not by accused – where accused suffers from schizophrenia, intellectual disability and a hearing impairment – dispute at to whether the accused was present at the time plans to kill the deceased were discussed and his ability to comprehend such statements – dispute as to whether the accused ever left the car which he travelled to the deceased's property in – multiple witnesses criminally concerned in the events and already convicted Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 18, 93T Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s 166 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 128, 165, 191 Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW), ss 36, 54, 56, 58, 59 Cases Cited: Gillard v The Queen (2003) 219 CLR 1 Pollard v R (2011) 31 VR 416 Robertson v R [2024] NSWCCA 99 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Rex (Crown) James Maxwell (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: M Swift (Crown) T Evers (Defendant)