Citation: [2019] NSWDC 130
Court: District Court of NSW
Date: 28 March 2019
Judge(s): Colefax SC DCJ
Background
The accused had been in custody on remand since his arrest on 22 March 2018, having been refused bail. A trial date of 1 April 2019 was fixed when he first appeared in the District Court on 6 September 2018.
By the time the matter returned to court on 28 March 2019, legal aid had been refused. Counsel appearing for the accused informed the court that an appeal against that refusal had been filed with the Legal Aid Review Committee, and sought an adjournment of the trial date pending the outcome of that appeal.
The application to vacate the 1 April 2019 hearing date was the sixth listing of the matter, with four previous appearances all having been consumed by legal aid issues.
Legal Issues
- Whether the trial hearing date of 1 April 2019 should be vacated in light of the pending Legal Aid Review Committee appeal
Decision
Issue: Vacation of the trial date
The court granted the application and vacated the 1 April 2019 hearing date, referring to section 57 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 (NSW) as the relevant provision (at [7]). With legal aid refused and an appeal outstanding, proceeding to trial was not a viable option.
The matter was stood over to 30 May 2019 for the purpose of allocating a new hearing date in 2020 (at [8]). His Honour noted that by that point the accused would have spent not less than two years in custody on remand, describing the situation as "highly unsatisfactory" while acknowledging it was beyond the court's control (at [8]).
Orders Made
- Trial hearing date of 1 April 2019 vacated
- Matter stood over to 30 May 2019 to allocate a new hearing date in 2020
Key Takeaways
- Under section 57 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 (NSW), a pending appeal to the Legal Aid Review Committee provided the basis for the District Court to vacate a fixed trial date (at [7]).
- Protracted legal aid disputes can cause significant delays to criminal proceedings, with this matter consuming four separate court appearances on legal aid issues alone before the trial date was ultimately lost (at [5]).
- The District Court expressed clear dissatisfaction with the prospect of the accused spending at least two years on remand before trial, while recognising the delay fell outside the court's control (at [8]).
- Repeated legal aid complications resulted in a trial being pushed from April 2019 to sometime in 2020, illustrating how unresolved representation issues can substantially extend pre-trial custody periods (at [2], [8]).
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation
- Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 (NSW) s.57
Cases
- Not stated