Hoang v. The Queen

Lower Court Judgment

03/08/2018 Supreme Court of New South Wales (Court of Criminal Appeal) (Hoeben CJ at CL; Campbell and N Adams JJ)

[2018] NSWCCA 166

Catchwords

Criminal law – Juror misconduct – Juror conducting own inquiries – Mandatory discharge – Where s 53A of Jury Act 1977 (NSW) required mandatory discharge of juror if juror engaged in misconduct – Where s 68C provided juror must not make own inquiries “for purpose of obtaining information” about matters relevant to trial – Where applicant charged with 12 offences – Where jury commenced deliberations and, on 5 November 2015, jury sent note to trial judge stating agreement reached on 8 counts – Where, on evening of 5 November, juror conducted internet search for personal reasons only on matter related to trial – Where jury continued deliberating on 6 November until jury foreperson notified trial judge of juror’s actions – Where trial judge took verdicts on 10 counts before discharging juror pursuant to s 53A – Where remaining jurors continued deliberating and gave verdict on remaining 2 counts – Where applicant appealed on basis trial judge failed to discharge juror prior to taking of first 10 counts – Where Court of Criminal Appeal held no juror misconduct and dismissed appeal – Whether inquiries made “for purpose of obtaining information” in s 68C includes juror making inquiries for solely personal reasons – If so, whether  juror should have been discharged prior to taking of first 10 counts – If so, whether verdicts on any counts valid.