The Court ordered trial by judge alone under s 132(4) Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), holding that the cumulative weight of factors — including inherent prejudice from disclosure of an unresolved disciplinary investigation against the first accused solicitor, the risk of jury prejudice regarding adverse possession as a mode of property acquisition, multiple layers of legal and factual complexity (joint enterprise liability, possessory title doctrine, dual-limb dishonesty test), and the value of transparent reasoning for appellate review — outweighed the community interest in jury trial and the relevance of objective community standards to the dishonesty element. On the evidentiary applications, the Court held that evidence of the first accused's pre-2003 professional dealings was relevant to proving the existence and terms of the alleged joint criminal enterprise, that expert solicitor opinion on legal obligations and adverse possession procedures was admissible under ss 79-80 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) notwithstanding that it concerned domestic law, and that the generic complaints of unfair prejudice under s 137 lost their force given the trial would proceed before a judge alone with transparent reasoning subject to appellate correction.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 1 later case that cites this judgment.