R v Belghar [2012] NSWCCA 86

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: R v Belghar [2012] NSWCCA 86 Hearing dates: 11 April 2012 Decision date: 04 May 2012 Before: McClellan CJ at CL at [1] Hidden J at [116] Hislop J at [121] Decision: 1. Appeal upheld. 2. Decision of primary judge quashed. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - 5F application - jury trial - trial by judge alone - application of s 132 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 - whether there is a presumption in favour of a jury trial - what factors are relevant to a determining the interests of justice - whether the subjective views of the accused are relevant to the interests of justice - whether there is evidence to support the subjective views of the accused - whether trial efficiency and reasons are relevant to the interests of justice Legislation Cited: Courts and Crimes Legislation Further Amendment Act 2010 Criminal Appeal Act 1912 Criminal Code (NT) Criminal Code (Qld) Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) Criminal Procedure Act 1986 Criminal Procedure Act 2004 (WA) Evidence Act 1995 Juries Act 1927 (SA) Juries Act 2000 (Vic) Juries Act 2003 (Tas) Jury Act 1977 (NSW) Supreme Court Act Supreme Court Act 1933 (ACT) Cases Cited: AK v Western Australia [2008] HCA 8; (2008) 232 CLR 438 Arthurs v The State of Western Australia [2007] WASC 182 Brown v The Queen [1986] HCA11; (1986) 160 CLR 171 Bushell's Case (1670) 124 ER 1006 Chandler v DPP [1964] AC 763 DAO v R [2011] NSWCCA 63 Dupas v The Queen [2010] HCA 20; 241 CLR 237 Ford v Blurton (1922) 38 TLR 801 Gilbert v The Queen [2000] HCA 15; (2000) 201 CLR 414 House v The King [1936] HCA 40; (1936) 55 CLR 499 J, S, M v R [2010] EWCA Crim 1755 Kingswell v The Queen [1985] HCA 72; (1985) 159 CLR 264 Kissier v The Queen [2012] HCATrans 28 Pambula District Hospital v Herriman (1988) 14 NSWLR 387 R v Cox [1960] VR 665 R v Fardon [2010] QCA 317 R v GSR (3) [2011] NSWDC 17 R v Kissier [2011] QCA 223 R v Markou [2011] NSWDC 25 R v Shipley (1784) 4 Doug 73, 170 Singer v Berghouse (No 2) [1994] HCA 40; (1994) 181 CLR 201 State of Western Australia v Iley [2006] WASC 107 State of Western Australia v Rayney [2011] WASC 326 State of Western Australia v Tarau [2005] WASC 290 Swain v Waverley Municipal Council [2005] HCA 4, 220 CLR 517 TVM v State of Western Australia [2007] WASC 299 Western Australia v Martinez [2006] WASC 25; (2006) 159 A Crim R 380 Texts Cited: Lord Devlin, Trial by Jury (rev ed, 1966) Statement by Bar Council of NSW: Your Right to a Jury Trial (1965) Ian Baker QC, Sorely Tried: Democracy and Trial by Jury in NSW, Francis Forbes Lecture Series (2002) Report of the Trial Efficiency Working Group (2009) McClellan CJ at CL, "The future role of the judge - umpire, manager, mediator or service provider" p 2, 1 December 2011 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Crown (Applicant) Ismail Belghar (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: N Noman/N J Gouda (Crown/applicant) G A Newton (Respondent) Solicitors: Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Applicant) Legal Aid Commission of NSW (Respondent) File Number(s): 2009/326053 Decision under appeal Date of Decision: 2012-03-08 00:00:00 Before: Solomon DCJ File Number(s): 2009/326053