R v WE (No.15) [2020] NSWSC 332

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v WE (No.15) [2020] NSWSC 332 Hearing dates: 23 March 2020 Date of orders: 23 March 2020 Decision date: 23 March 2020 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Bellew J Decision: (1) Pursuant to Part 55 Rule 11(1) of the Supreme Court Rules 1970 (NSW), I direct the Registrar to apply by motion for, or to commence proceedings for, the contempt of Court which has been prima facie committed by the accused today. (2) For the purpose of order 1, I direct that a copy of this judgment and a copy of the transcript of today's proceedings, be provided to the Registrar. (3) In the exercise of my discretion, I allow the Crown Prosecutor to make a final address to the jury. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – Practice and Procedure – Offences – Contempt – Self-represented accused –Where accused failed to answer questions put by the Crown in cross-examination – Direction to Registrar to commence proceedings for contempt

CRIMINAL LAW – Practice and Procedure – Self-represented accused – Whether appropriate to exercise the discretion in favour of allowing the Crown Prosecutor to make a closing address to the jury – Factors bearing upon the exercise of discretion Legislation Cited: Supreme Court Rules 1970 (NSW) Cases Cited: R v E J Smith [1982] 2 NSWLR 608 R v Turner (1977) 16 SASR 444 R v Zorad (1990) 19 NSWLR 91 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Regina – Crown WE – Accused Representation: Counsel: P McGuire SC and B Anniwell – Crown Accused – Self-represented