Hausfeld v Commissioner of Police [2018] NSWSC 1540

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hausfeld v Commissioner of Police [2018] NSWSC 1540 Hearing dates: 10 October 2018 Date of orders: 10 October 2018 Decision date: 10 October 2018 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Fagan J Decision: (1) Pursuant to Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 r 13.4, the summons is dismissed. (2) The plaintiff is to pay the costs of the first and second defendants of these proceedings, including of this notice of motion. Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE – summary disposal – dismissal of proceedings – abuse of process – criminal proceedings committed for trial in District Court – summons challenging search warrant on alleged irregularity – challenge brought a year after warrant issued – whether question of irregularity of warrant determinable by District Court – whether review application amounts to fragmentation of criminal court proceedings – whether abuse of process – summons dismissed

CRIMINAL LAW – procedure – warrants, arrest, search, seizure and incidental powers – warrants – alleged irregularities in application for search warrant and in warrant as issued – alleged failure to specify power under which warrant sought, items to be seized, and offence charged – whether warrant irregularly issued and invalid – issues not determined Legislation Cited: Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Law Enforcement (Power and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) Supreme Court Act 1970 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 Cases Cited: Flanagan v Commissioner of Australian Federal Police [1996] 60 FCR 149 Gould v Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) [2018] NSWCCA 109 Texts Cited: N/A Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Stephen Hausfeld (plaintiff) NSW Commissioner of Police (first defendant) Detective Sergeant Claudia Allcroft (second defendant) Registrar Karryn Gavenlock (third defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr M Higgins (plaintiff) Mr D Hume (defendants)