R v Christos PODARAS [2009] NSWDC 413

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Christos PODARAS [2009] NSWDC 413

JUDGMENT DATE: 22 October 2009

JURISDICTION: District Court of New South Wales

JUDGMENT OF: Cogswell SC DCJ

DECISION: I reject the application.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - trial - application by defence to discharge jury - application based on evidence given by co-offender who pleaded guilty to similar charge leading to prejudice against accused

PARTIES: Regina Christos Podaras

FILE NUMBER(S): 2008/14226

COUNSEL: Ms S Herbert Mr J.P. Watts

SOLICITORS: Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions NSW Catherine Hunter Solicitors

JUDGMENT

1. Mr Watts who appears for the accused has asked me to discharge the jury. His application is based on a question and answer given yesterday. Yesterday the Crown Prosecutor asked the witness Ms Singh this question: "Q. The charge that you pleaded guilty to was a charge that on 19 April 2008 at Lakemba and other places in the State of New South Wales while in company with David Hoey and Christos Podaras did take [the complainant] without his consent with intent to obtain advantage, namely, to facilitate an assault upon [the complainant] and at the time actual bodily harm was occasioned to [the complainant], was it words similar to that was the charge you pleaded guilty to? A. Yes." 2. That question and answer were followed by evidence about the witness giving an undertaking to give evidence against Mr Podaras in these proceedings. There was also evidence about her being sentenced by another judge of this court and receiving a discount of some forty per cent from her sentence as a result of her assistance in giving evidence against Mr Podaras.