Appeal - Criminal law and procedure - Application for
leave to appeal - Whether reasonable prospects of success - Turns on own
facts
Criminal law and procedure - Bail pending appeal - Appeal against
Quick Take
1The essence of conspiracy is the agreement to do the unlawful act. If matters of substance remain unagreed, the parties may still be negotiating rather than conspiring. But the agreement need not have the formalities of a contract, and civil contract law concepts should not be imported, so consideration may be lacking and non-parties may be involved.
2On the facts, recorded conversations in which the accused agreed on the quantity and price of drugs, and then discussed further transactions or the mechanics of exchange, permitted a jury reasonably to find a concluded agreement. This was so despite disagreement on peripheral matters such as whether to sell on credit, so the unreasonable-verdict grounds had no reasonable prospect of success.
3Where the prospects of an appeal are relied on as exceptional reasons for bail pending appeal, more than an arguable case is needed. Ordinarily bail is granted only if there are strong grounds that the appeal will succeed and the sentence, or its custodial part, is likely to have been substantially served before the appeal is determined. A sentence appeal that would be decided before any reduced sentence would see the offender released is not such a reason.
