Regina v Kenneth Ian O'Meara [2003] NSWCCA 250

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : Regina v Kenneth Ian O'Meara [2003] NSWCCA 250 HEARING DATE(S) : 5 September 2003 JUDGMENT DATE : 5 September 2003

JUDGMENT OF : Meagher JA at 1; Sully J at 2; Smart AJ at 9 DECISION : Appeal dismissed

LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes Act 1914 (Commonwealth) Judiciary Act (Commonwealth) CASES CITED : Regina v Ross, unreported, NSWCCA 20 April 1994 Regina v Hayes (1951) 1 KB 29 PARTIES : Regina Kenneth Ian O'Meara FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60167/03 COUNSEL : M. King - Crown H. Dhanji - Appellant SOLICITORS : Commonwealth DPP Murphy's Lawyers - Appellant

LOWER COURT District Court JURISDICTION : LOWER COURT 01/11/0591 FILE NUMBER(S) : LOWER COURT Finnane DCJ JUDICIAL OFFICER :

- 2 - IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL 60167/03

MEAGHER JA SULLY J SMART AJ

5 September 2003 REGINA v KENNETH IAN O'MEARA Judgment

1 MEAGHER JA: The Court is in a position to give judgment. I will ask Mr. Justice Sully to give the first judgment. 2 SULLY J: The appellant, Mr O'Meara, was presented in the District Court for trial upon an indictment charging him with four contraventions of s 29B of the Crimes Act 1914 (Commonwealth). He was represented by counsel. He entered pleas of not guilty to each count in the indictment. He was put, accordingly, upon his trial by jury. 3 After that trial had been proceeding for some time, he intimated through his counsel that he wished to change his pleas. The jury being absent, the learned trial Judge thereupon re-indicted the appellant and took from him pleas of guilty to the four counts in the freshly presented indictment. That having been done, the learned primary Judge formally recorded convictions; brought the jury back into Court; explained to the jury what had happened; and formally discharged the jury. His Honour subsequently imposed penalties upon Mr O'Meara; but they are not the subject of an application for leave to appeal against them, and nothing more need be said about them for present purposes.