PPC v Williams [2013] NSWCCA 286

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: PPC v Williams [2013] NSWCCA 286 Hearing dates: 11 October 2013 Decision date: 18 November 2013 Before: Gleeson JA at [1]; R A Hulme J at [98]; Adamson J at [99] Decision: (1) Grant the applicant leave to appeal, pursuant to s 5F(3AB) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912, from the interlocutory judgment of the District Court delivered on 2 August 2013. (2) Appeal allowed. (3) Set aside the orders of McClintock DCJ dated 2 August 2013, except insofar as the orders permit access to the parties' legal representatives only to such of the subpoenaed documents in respect of which the applicant made no objection to access being granted (being those documents tagged by the applicant's solicitor with a green coloured flag for the purpose of identification). (4) The application for leave to produce documents under s 298(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 is referred back to the trial judge for reconsideration in the light of this Court's rulings. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - interlocutory appeal - Criminal Procedure Act 1986 Chapter 6, Division 5, Part 2 - sexual assault communications privilege - issue of subpoena of documents subject to leave - where confidential affidavits provided - whether the trial judge erred in his approach to the assessment of substantial probative value - whether trial judge erred because he failed to undertake the balancing exercise in s 299D(1)(c) - whether trial judge erred in allowing access to material without considering whether it was inadmissible under s 293 as disclosing a prior sexual history Legislation Cited: Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 s 15A Crimes Act 1900 ss 61J, 66C, 578A Criminal Appeal Act 1912 s 5F Criminal Procedure Act 1986 ss 3, 293, 295, 296, 298, 299, 299A, 299B, 302 Cases Cited: House v The King [1936] HCA [40]; 55 CLR 499 KS v Veitch (No 2) [2012] NSWCCA 266 NAR v PPC1 [2013] NSWCCA 25 Queanbeyan City Council v Environment Protection Authority [2011] NSWCCA 108 R v Einfeld [2008] NSWCCA 215; 71 NSWLR 31 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: PPC (Applicant) Jesse Williams (Respondent) Director of Public Prosecutions (watching brief) Representation: Counsel: M Johnston (Applicant) P Skinner (Respondent) Solicitors: SCT Lawyers (Applicant) George Sten & Co (Respondent) Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions (watching brief) File Number(s): 2012/108417 Publication restriction: No Decision under appeal Jurisdiction: 9101 Date of Decision: 2013-08-02 00:00:00 Before: McClintock DCJ File Number(s): 2012/108417