Ewan v R [2020] NSWCCA 85

Court of Criminal Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Ewan v R [2020] NSWCCA 85 Hearing dates: 4 March 2020 Date of orders: 06 May 2020 Decision date: 06 May 2020 Before: Macfarlan JA at [1]; R A Hulme J at [94]; Button J at [95] Decision: (1) Grant leave to appeal. (2) Allow the appeal. (3) Quash the applicant's conviction on the accessory after the fact charge and order a new trial. (4) Quash the aggregate sentence imposed in the District Court on 12 April 2019 in respect of the charge of accessory after the fact and the offences charged in sequences 3, 4 and 6. (5) In respect of his convictions on the offences charged in sequences 3, 4 and 6, and in substitution for the sentence for those offences referred to in Order (4) above, sentence Stephen Geoffrey Ewan to an aggregate period of imprisonment of 6 months to be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order commencing on 12 April 2019 and expiring on 11 October 2019. (6) Specify 6 months imprisonment as the indicative sentence in respect of each of these offences. (7) The Intensive Correction Order referred to in Order 5 above is subject to the following conditions: (a) The offender must not commit any offence. (b) The offender must submit to supervision by a Community Corrections Officer. (8) Note that the sentence imposed on the applicant on 12 April 2019 in respect of the offence charged in sequence 1 is unaffected by these orders. (9) List the matter for mention in the District Court at Sydney at 9:30am on 22 May 2020. Catchwords: CRIME – accessory after the fact to a serious indictable offence – trial judge instructed jury that it was sufficient for the Crown to prove only one of the three acts of assistance alleged – whether a specific unanimity direction was required – different jurors may have taken different paths to their conclusions of guilt – substantial miscarriage of justice