REYNOLDS, Mathew v Regina [2015] NSWCCA 29

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: REYNOLDS, Mathew v Regina [2015] NSWCCA 29 Hearing dates: 3 February 2015 Date of orders: 09 March 2015 Decision date: 09 March 2015 Before: Gleeson JA at [1]; Johnson J at [2]; Hall J at [3] Decision: (1) Leave granted to the appellant to appeal out of time. (2) Appeal dismissed. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – appeal against conviction – whether misdirection in summing up to jury –direction given by trial judge in response to jury question – direction given by trial judge on causation – meaning of phrase 'significant and substantial' employed in the answer of the trial judge to a jury question for purposes of causation – whether terms 'significant' and 'substantial' mean the same thing – meaning of terms 'significant' and 'substantial' – directions in question should be viewed in light of earlier directions in summing up and in the context of the case involving a substantial departure from the standard of care required of the offender - in context there direction did not amount to a misdirection -appeal dismissed - CRIMINAL LAW – manslaughter – criminal negligence - elements – causation – proper test for causation – direction given to jury in relation to causation Cases Cited: McAuliffe v The Queen (1995) 183 CLR 108 Osland v The Queen (1998) 197 CLR 316 R v Andrew [2000] NSWCCA 310 R v Moffatt (2000) 112 A Crim R 201; [2000] NSWCCA 174 Reg v Hennigan [1971] 3 All ER 133 Royall v The Queen (1991) 172 CLR 378 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mathew Reynolds (Appellant) Representation: Counsel: D Dalton SC (Appellant) J Pickering SC (Crown)