R v Seller; R v McCarthy [2015] NSWSC 1315

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Seller; R v McCarthy [2015] NSWSC 1315 Hearing dates: 7 and 8 September 2015 Date of orders: 09 September 2015 Decision date: 09 September 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Harrison J Decision: Application dismissed Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – procedure – application by accused for directed verdict of acquittal upon basis of no case to answer – charge of conspire with intention of dishonestly influencing a Commonwealth public official - whether evidence upon which jury could convict Cases Cited: Doney v The Queen [1990] HCA 51; (1990) 171 CLR 207 May v O'Sullivan [1955] HCA 38; (1955) 92 CLR 654 R v PL [2102] NSWCCA 31 The Queen v Bilik (1984) 36 SASR 321 Zanetti v Hill [1962] HCA 62; (1962) 108 CLR 433 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Ross Edward Seller (Accused) Patrick David McCarthy (Accused) Representation: Counsel: P McGuire (Crown) J Stratton SC with G Antipas (Seller) P Bruckner with R Johnson (McCarthy)

Solicitors: Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Hardin Law (Seller and McCarthy) File Number(s): 2009/2375562009/237509 Publication restriction: Nil

Judgment 1. HIS HONOUR: The accused are charged that: "…between about 24 May 2001 and about 30 December 2002 at Sydney in the State of New South Wales and elsewhere [the accused] did conspire with each other and divers other persons with the intention of dishonestly influencing a Commonwealth public official, namely the Commissioner of Taxation, in the exercise of his duties as a public official." 1. At the close of the Crown case the accused each applied for a verdict by direction upon the basis that there was no case to answer. I am disinclined to accede to those applications. My brief reasons for coming to that decision are as follows.