Dennis v R [2012] NSWCCA 120

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Dennis v R [2012] NSWCCA 120 Hearing dates: 2 March 2012 Decision date: 08 June 2012 Before: Macfarlan JA at [1] Rothman J at [59] Davies J at [60] Decision: Appeal dismissed. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - appeal - conviction for murder - circumstantial evidence - whether direction required that jury needed to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that child suffered fatal injuries within specific time period alleged by the Crown - whether indispensable intermediate fact - whether Shepherd direction necessary

CRIMINAL PRACTICE & PROCEDURE - appeal - conviction for murder - application to adduce new evidence - whether any significant possibility that evidence would have led to acquittal if adduced at trial Legislation Cited: Criminal Appeal Rules Cases Cited: Aouad and El-Zeyat v R [2011] NSWCCA 61; 207 A Crim R 411 (2011) 2007 A Crim R 411 Burrell v R [2009] NSWCCA 163; 196 A Crim R 199 Davidson v R [2009] NSWCCA 150; 75 NSWLR 150 Domican v The Queen [1992] HCA 13; 173 CLR 555 R v Abou-Chabake [2004] NSWCCA 356; 149 A Crim R 417 Rees v R [2010] NSWCCA 84; 200 A Crim R 83 Shepherd v R [1990] HCA 56; 170 CLR 573 Wood v R [2012] NSWCCA 21 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Matthew Allen James Dennis (Appellant) Regina (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: D Dalton SC (Appellant) J Girdham (Respondent) Solicitors: Legal Aid Commission NSW (Appellant) Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Respondent) File Number(s): CCA 2009/5917 Decision under appeal Citation: R v Matthew Allen James Dennis [2009] NSWSC 1357 Date of Decision: 2009-12-04 00:00:00 Before: Barr AJ File Number(s): SC 2009/5917