R v Michael John CHRISTIAN [2009] NSWDC 375

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Michael John CHRISTIAN [2009] NSWDC 375

JUDGMENT DATE: 19 May 2009

JURISDICTION: District Court of New South Wales

JUDGMENT OF: Cogswell SC DCJ

DECISION: The application for bail is refused.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - bail application - found guilty by jury of break and enter and commit serious indictable offence in company - s 9D Bail Act 1978 - repeat offender for the purposes of s9D(4) Bail Act 1978 - exceptional circumstances Family Court proceedings?

LEGISLATION CITED: Bail Act, 1978 s 9D, s 32

PARTIES: Regina Michael John Christian

FILE NUMBER(S): 2007/15837

COUNSEL: Ms H Roberts Mr Hancock

SOLICITORS: NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT)

JUDGMENT

1. Michael John Christian has been found guilty by a jury of a charge of break and enter and commit serious indictable offence in company. That carries a maximum of twenty years imprisonment, with a standard non-parole period of five years. I have convicted him of that offence.

2. Mr Hancock, who appears for him, has applied for an adjournment in order to prepare his client's case for sentence, including a presentence report. I propose to grant that adjournment.

3. He also applies for bail for his client in the meantime. My attention has been drawn to s 9D of the Bail Act 1978, which provides that I am not to grant bail to a person in respect of a serious personal violence offence if the person is a repeat offender, unless I am satisfied that exceptional circumstances justify the grant of bail.

4. The crime of which Mr Christian was convicted is a serious personal violence offence as defined in s 9D(4).