New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for criminal matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian State of New South Wales.[1]

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal
Jurisdiction New South Wales
LocationSix locations in Sydney CBD
Composition methodVice-regal appointment upon Premier's nomination, following advice of the Attorney General and Cabinet
Authorized byParliament of New South Wales via the:
Appeals toHigh Court of Australia
Appeals from
Judge term lengthmandatory retirement by age of 72
Websitesupremecourt.justice.nsw.gov.au
Chief Justice of New South Wales
CurrentlyJustice Andrew Bell
Since7 March 2022 (2022-03-07)
President of the Court of Appeal
CurrentlyJustice Julie Ward
Since7 March 2022 (2022-03-07)

Jurisdiction

The Court hears appeals from people who were convicted or pleaded guilty and were sentenced by a Supreme or District court judge. The Court also hears appeals lodged by The Crown regarding the adequacy of a sentence. Decisions made by the Land and Environment Court, the Industrial Court or the Drug Court in criminal jurisdiction may also be brought for appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal may also grant leave to appeal in matters involving questions of fact or mixed questions of fact and law. It may also grant leave to appeal in cases where the severity or adequacy of the sentence is challenged.[1]

If a petitioner is not satisfied with the decision made by the Court of Criminal Appeal, application may be made to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal the decision before the High Court.

Composition

Three judges usually form the panel for appeals, although five judges can be used for significant legal issues. The Chief Justice has ultimate discretion in determining the number of judges to sit on the Bench, and the selection of individual judges for each case. A unanimous decision is not needed as the majority view will prevail. The presiding judge is usually one of the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, a Judge of Appeal or the Chief Judge at Common Law. Typically each bench comprises at least two judges of the Common Law Division.[2]: 6  Single judges hear sentence appeals from the Drug Court.[2]: 15 

The Judges who may typically be the presiding judge are listed below:

This table is an excerpt from New South Wales Court of Appeal § Current composition.[edit]
NameTitleTerm beganTime in officeNotes
Andrew BellChief Justice7 March 20221 year, 216 days[3]
Julie WardPresident, Court of Appeal7 March 20221 year, 216 days[4]
John BastenJudge of Appeal2 May 200518 years, 160 days[5]
Robert Macfarlan8 September 200815 years, 31 days
Anthony Meagher10 August 201112 years, 60 days
Fabian Gleeson29 April 201310 years, 163 days
Mark Leeming3 June 201310 years, 128 days
Anthony Payne30 March 20167 years, 193 days
Richard White15 March 20176 years, 208 days
Paul Brereton AM, RFD22 August 20185 years, 48 days
Robert Beech-JonesChief Judge at Common Law
Judge of Appeal		31 August 20212 years, 39 days[6]
David HammerschlagChief Judge in Equity17 March 20221 year, 206 days [7]
Carolyn SimpsonActing Judge of Appeal30 March 20185 years, 193 days [5]

Caseload

In 2018, the Court heard 407 new cases, which included 265 appeals against severity of sentence, 108 appeals against conviction, 19 appeals against interlocutory judgments and 1 case returned from the High Court for re-hearing. Appeals against convictions were approximately 27 per cent in 2018 and, in recent years have showed a trend towards increasing complexity, impacting on Court time and resources.[2]: 25 

See also

References
  1. "Court of Criminal Appeal". Supreme Court of New South Wales. Government of New South Wales. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  2. "2018 Annual Review" (PDF). Supreme Court of New South Wales. Government of New South Wales. 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. "New Chief Justice of NSW". NSW Department of Communities and Justice. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. "New President of the Court of Appeal". NSW Department of Communities and Justice. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. "Judicial officer contact details". Supreme Court of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. "Media Release - Appointment of Beech-Jones CJ at CL". 11 August 2021. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021.
  7. Speakman, M Attorney-General (16 March 2022). "New appointmenbts to strengthen Supreme Court" (PDF). Retrieved 21 March 2022.
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