Ahmu v R; Director of Public Prosecutions v Ahmu [2014] NSWCCA 312

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Ahmu v R; Director of Public Prosecutions v Ahmu [2014] NSWCCA 312 Hearing dates: 20 August 2014 Decision date: 15 December 2014 Before: Basten JA at [1]; Adams J at [43]; Fullerton J at [86] Decision: In Ahmu v R: 1. Grant the applicant an extension of time within which to seek leave to appeal from his convictions. 2. Grant the applicant leave to appeal. 3. Dismiss the appeal. In Director of Public Prosecutions v Ahmu: 1. Allow the appeal. 2. Without varying the non-parole periods and head sentences, vary the commencement dates as follows so that the sentences - (a) on Count 17 commenced on 6 December 2012; (b) on Count 18 commenced on 6 June 2013; (c) on Counts 15 and 16 commenced on 6 December 2013; (d) on Count 14 commenced on 6 June 2014; (e) on Counts 3 and 11 commenced on 6 June 2014. (f) on Counts 2,6 and 10 commenced on 6 December 2014; (g) on Counts 4, 5, 9, 12, and 13 are to commence on 6 June 2015; (h) on Count 8 is to commence on 6 December 2015. The overall effective sentence therefore consists of a non-parole period of 6 years 6 months commencing on 6 June 2012 and a head sentence of 9 years 6 months. The offender will become eligible to be considered for release on parole on 5 December 2018. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW - appeal against conviction - miscarriage of justice - competence of counsel - instructions to cross-examine complainant that she had fabricated allegations the accused had expressed a sexual interest in children - further instructions that allegations true after prosecution sought to subpoena accused's medical records - whether the cross-examination was an available forensic strategy - whether failing to seek a discharge of the jury gave rise to a miscarriage of justice - whether evidence of communication between counsel and accused properly revealed