Regina v Riscuta and Niga [2003] NSWCCA 6

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : Regina v Riscuta and Niga [2003] NSWCCA 6 HEARING DATE(S) : 22 November 2002 JUDGMENT DATE : 6 February 2003

JUDGMENT OF : Heydon JA at 1; Hulme J at 128; Carruthers AJ at 163 DECISION : See paragraph 127

CATCHWORDS : Criminal law - appeal against conviction - leave to appeal against sentence - supply of prohibited drug - heroin - admissibility of voice identification evidence - intercepted telephone conversations - relevance - s 55 (1) Evidence Act 1995 - probative value - whether trial judge's direction on voice identification evidence was adequate - overconfidence in witness - whether witness's prior familiarity with voice identified amounted to unfair prejudice to accused - Evidence Act 1995 s 137 - identification evidence - Evidence Act 1995 s 116 - whether trial judge's summing up was satisfactory - perverse verdict - search warrant - execution of search warrant by night - Jones v Dunkel - failure of accused to call particular witness - failure of Crown to call particular witness - operation of proviso to s 6(1) of Criminal Appeal Act 1912 - where no substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred - whether appellant lost a chance, which was fairly open, of being acquitted or lost a real chance of acquittal - Sentencing - consideration of circumstances. Criminal Appeal Act 1912 LEGISLATION CITED : Evidence Act 1995 Search Warrants Act 1985 Azzopardi v R (2001) 205 CLR 50 Bone v Commissioner of Stamp Duties [1972] 2 NSWLR 651 Bulejcik v R (1996) 185 CLR 375 Business World Computers Pty Ltd v Australian Telecommunications Commission (1988) 82 ALR 499 Domican v R (1992) 173 CLR 555 DPP v Hamman (unreported, CCA, 1 December 1998) Driscoll v R (1977) 137 CLR 517 Dyers v R (2002) 192 ALR 181 Festa v R (2001) 185 ALR 394 Glennon v R (1994) 119 ALR 706 Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298 MacKenzie v R (1996) 190 CLR 348 RPS v R (2000) 199 CLR 620 R v Adler (2001) 52 NSWLR 451 CASES CITED : R v Blakeman [1999] NSWCCA 415 R v Buckland [1977] 2 NSWLR 452 R v Dodd (1991) 57 A Crim R 349 R v Dungay (2001) 126 A Crim R 216 R v Fahda [1999] NSWCCA 267 R v Marshall (2000) 113 A Crim R 190 R v Newland (1997) 98 A Crim R 455 R v Peel (1971) 1 NSWLR 247 R v Phelan (1993) 66 A Crim R 447 R v Smith [1984] 1 NSWLR 462 R v Simpson [2001] NSWCCA 534 R v Taufua [1999] NSWCCA 205 R v Todd (1982) 2 NSWLR 517 Veen v R (No 2) (1987-1988) 164 CLR 465 Velevski v R (2002) 187 ALR 233 R v Whyte [2002] NSWCC 343 PARTIES : Regina v Doru Riscuta Regina v Mariana Niga FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60802/01; 60283/02 Mr K G Horler AM QC (Riscuta) COUNSEL : Mr S J Odgers SC/Mr C B Simpson (Niga) Mr G I O Rowling (Respondent) John Bettens & Co (Riscuta) SOLICITORS : Baird & Associates (Niga) S E O'Connor (Respondent)