Long v DPP [2008] NSWDC 194

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: Long v DPP [2008] NSWDC 194

HEARING DATE(S): 01/09/2008

JUDGMENT DATE: 9 September 2008

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Williams DCJ at 1

DECISION: The appeal is dismissed. The orders of the Local Court are confirmed.

CATCHWORDS: "anything" constituted by $51,000 cash - reasonable suspicion - continuance of - conclusion as to at end of trial - defendant does not give evidence - evidence by third party as to ownership - defence in sub-section 2 - requires evidence personally from the defendant - can't be proved by hearsay or from a third party

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act s527C(1)(c) & (2)

CASES CITED: Anderson v District Court of NSW (1992) 27 NSWLR 701 Buckett (1995) 79 A Crim R 302

PARTIES: Ronnie Long Director of Public Prosecutions

FILE NUMBER(S): 08/12/0599

COUNSEL: Mr MJ Blair Ms E Curran

SOLICITORS: The Law Practice Solicitor for DPP

1. This is a conviction appeal in related to an offence contrary to s. 527C(1)(c) which provides that a person who has anything in or on premises, whether belonging to or occupied by herself or not or whether that thing is there for her own use or the use of another which thing may reasonable be suspected of being stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained is liable, on conviction before a Local Court, to imprisonment for 6 months or a fine of 5 penalty units or both. The section also provides for a statutory defence in sub section 2 which says that,

"It is a sufficient defence to a prosecution for an offence under the section if the defendant satisfies the Court that she had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the thing referred to in the charge was taken or otherwise unlawfully obtained'.