Chapman v R 8 February 2005

The applicant pleaded guilty in the Darwin Supreme Court to two counts of indecent dealing and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on each count to be served concurrently. It was ordered that the sentence be suspended after 21 days. An operational period of 12 months from the date of sentence was fixed.

The applicant sought leave to appeal against either conviction or sentence or both (it is unclear which) on grounds relating to:-

• the change of plea from guilty to not guilty,
• the fact that there was no time for his case to be prepared, and
• the change of legal representation.

The applicant did not apply to have his application reheard by the Court of Criminal Appeal pursuant to s.429(2) of the Criminal Code.