DPP (Cth) v Knopp
Court of Appeal
Niall JA, Kidd and Tinney AJJA
12/12/2023
[2023] VSCA 315
Criminal law — Appeal — Interlocutory appeal — Conspiracy — Conspiracy to import border-controlled drug — Pre-trial ruling dismissing conspiracy charge — Whether dismissal an interlocutory decision — Whether interests of justice require dismissal — Factors relevant to exercise of power to dismiss charge of conspiracy — Whether sufficient and effective substantive charge available — Whether substantive offence subsumed offending alleged as a conspiracy — Whether finding of guilt on conspiracy charge would require sentencing judge to find facts that the jury may not have found — Relevance of prosecutorial discretion in proceeding on conspiracy charge — Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), ss 11.5(6), 307.1(1) — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 3
Words and phrases — ‘interests of justice’ — ‘require’ — ‘interlocutory decision’
Read the judgment here.