Section 222(2)(c) of the Justices Act 1886 (Qld) does not preclude an appeal to the District Court against a costs order where the defendant has pleaded guilty to a summary offence; the provision is confined to prohibiting appeals against conviction (McMurdo P and Chesterman JA; Fraser JA dissenting). However, the majority on orders (McMurdo P and Fraser JA) held that the Magistrate's refusal to award professional costs was not a wrong exercise of discretion, meaning the practical result is that a Magistrate may refuse professional costs where the prosecutor could reasonably have used a cheaper enforcement mechanism such as SPER. The question of whether s 222(2)(c) precludes costs appeals remains contested given the three-way split in reasoning.
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