R v Dowe [2007] NSWDC 70

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Dowe [2007] NSWDC 70

HEARING DATE(S): 19/04/2007

JUDGMENT DATE: 19 April 2007

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Murrell SC DCJ

DECISION: Application to set aside subpoena dismissed

CATCHWORDS: Subpoena - Public Interest Immunity - Management Committee of NSW Crime Commission

s130(4)(f) of the Evidence Act 1995 s130 (1) of the Evidence Act 1995 LEGISLATION CITED: New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985 s24 & s25 of the New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985 225(1) of the New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985

Conway v Rimmer [1968] AC 910 at 952 CASES CITED: Howard and Treasurer of Commonwealth of Australia (1985) ALD 626 at 634 Alister v the Queen (1984) 154 CLR 404

Crown PARTIES: Crime Commission of NSW David Darley Dowe

FILE NUMBER(S): 06/11/0348

COUNSEL: Mr D Staehli (Crown) Mr I Temby QC (Crime Commission of NSW)

SOLICITORS: Mr R Mayne (Accused)

JUDGMENT 1 The New South Wales Crime Commission applies to the Court for an order that a subpoena be set aside insofar as it seeks the production of minutes of Management Committee meetings of the Commission. The meetings on 14 February, 2005 and 21 March, 2005 are in question.

2 I have had access to the minutes.

3 The Commission concedes that the subpoena has a legitimate forensic purpose. Put simply, the purpose in question is to investigate whether, in approximately February 2005, the Australian Federal Police (which is represented on the Management Committee) was operating "in the dark" in relation to Operation Gymea; whether the AFP was aware that, under the controlled Operation, there was every chance that cocaine would be sold into the market and would reach end users. In other words, whether the AFP knew that, under the Operation, a large quantity of the cocaine would be consumed by members of the public.