The test for bail pending appeal under the Bail Act 1982 (WA), Sch 1 Pt C cl 4, requires 'exceptional reasons' with 'exceptional' bearing its ordinary meaning of unusual or out of the ordinary. Exceptional reasons may be found in a combination of circumstances individually insufficient. While strong prospects of success on appeal and the likelihood of serving a substantial portion of the sentence will ordinarily loom large, they are not mandatory prerequisites; the test depends on the facts of the particular case. Personal and familial hardship flowing as ordinary consequences of conviction and incarceration will generally not constitute exceptional reasons absent strong prospects of success on appeal.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 38 later cases that cite this judgment.
18 of the 38 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.