Villis v R [2014] NSWCCA 74

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Villis v R [2014] NSWCCA 74 Hearing dates: 15 April 2014 Decision date: 13 May 2014 Before: Bathurst CJ at [1] Fullerton J at [2] Bellew J at [40] Decision: 1. Appeal against conviction upheld. 2. Conviction quashed. 3. Retrial ordered. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - conviction appeal - supply not less than a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine - whether trial judge erred in not discharging jury following an application for discharge on the basis that a prosecution witness had given evidence amounting to the bad character of the appellant - whether verdict of the jury was reached through pressure of time restraints rather than proper deliberation Legislation Cited: Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Jury Act 1977 (NSW) Cases Cited: Black v R [1993] HCA 71; 179 CLR 44 Burrell v R [2007] NSWCCA 65 Hunt v R [2011] NSWCCA 152 Nagti v R [2008] NSWCCA 3 Nudd v R [2006] HCA 9; (2006) 162 A Crim R 301 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Andrew Villis (Appellant) The Crown (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: S Kluss (Appellant) S Herbert (Crown) Solicitors: LD Lock (Appellant) Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) File Number(s): 2011/230879 Decision under appeal Jurisdiction: 9101 Date of Decision: 2012-11-16 00:00:00 Before: Coorey DCJ File Number(s): 2011/230879