General Civil Appeal – professions and trades – medical and related professions – medical practitioners – discipline and removal from and restoration to register – infamous conduct or misconduct in professional respect – particular cases – where respondent convicted of four counts of sexual offences against children under 16 years – where respondent's registration previously suspended for professional misconduct – where respondent is said to be affected by an organic brain disorder – where the Tribunal cancelled the respondent's registration and ordered that he not be registered for a period of five years – whether the reasons of the Tribunal state a sufficient basis for the order made – whether the order of the Tribunal should stand - Procedure – costs – general rule – costs follow the event – where appellant substantially successful in decision below – where appellant wholly successful on appeal – whether an order for costs against the respondent should be limited to the costs incurred by the appellant during the investigation phase only – HELD: Appeal allowed, orders of the tribunal set aside; registration of the respondent is cancelled; the respondent must never be registered as a medical practitioner by the Medical Board of Queensland; respondent to pay the appellant's costs of its investigation of the respondent, of the proceedings before the Tribunal and of the appeal.

Professions and Trades – lawyers – solicitor and client – retainer – duration, termination and change of attorney – where the respondent denied the appellant access to his papers unless outstanding fees were paid and other conditions were met – where the appellant was at the relevant time under no obligation to pay any fees to the respondent – where the appellant required access to the papers to prepare for a mediation – whether the conduct of the respondent was inconsistent with the continuation of the retainer – Liens – possessory lien – determination – where appellant owes outstanding fees to the respondent – where the respondent refused to deliver up papers belonging to the appellant – where the respondent claimed a possessory lien over the papers – where the respondent is entitled to claim an equitable "fruits of the litigation" lien – whether the respondent can maintain a possessory lien over the papers – HELD: Appeal allowed; Orders 1 and 2 of the learned primary judge set aside; All files, documents, correspondence or other material prepared by or on behalf of the appellant and copies of all documents, correspondence or other material disclosed by Burnett Valley Holdings Limited in the possession or control of John C Dennett, whether held by John C Dennett, John C Dennett & Associates and by John W Lee in relation to the Supreme Court proceeding No 3269 of 2007, be delivered up to the appellant; All files, documents, correspondence or other material prepared by the appellant and copies of all documents, correspondence or other material disclosed by Indigenous Business Australia in the possession or control of John C Dennett, whether held by John C Dennett, John C Dennett and Associates and by John W Lee in relation to the Supreme Court proceeding No 9150 of 2003, be delivered up to the appellant; The respondent to pay the appellant's costs of and incidental to the appeal to be assessed on the standard basis.

Environment and Planning – Courts and Tribunals with environment jurisdiction – Queensland – Planning and Environment Court and its predecessors – right and availability of appeal – where applicant/appellant sought the determination of preliminary points of law – whether applicant/appellant should be granted leave to appeal on a point of law under s 4.1.56 Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) from decision of primary judge – where applicant/appellant granted itself approval to construct toilet block on State coastal land above high-water mark near Daintree river – where respondent applied for a declaration that the construction required a development permit from it to be lawful – where applicant/appellant sought the determination of preliminary points of law – where no factual findings had been made prior to applicant/appellant's application – where primary judge accepted respondent's interpretation of "interfering with quarry materials" within Sch 8 Pt 1 Table 4 Item 5(b)(i) Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) – whether primary judge erred in making determination of preliminary points of law – whether application for determination of preliminary points of law was premature in the absence of factual findings – HELD: Application for leave to appeal granted; Appeal allowed; Order of the Planning and Environment Court of 11 May 2007 set aside and the following order substituted: that the application for the determination of preliminary points of law be refused.

Qualifications and admission – Queensland – general matters – where the applicant was a director of a company which offered courses that did not have the required ASIC accreditation – where the applicant’s company engaged in misleading conduct – where the applicant let the company be deregistered without ensuring an ordered payment was paid to the students – where the applicant demonstrated an unacceptable attitude towards his company directorship – whether the applicant is suitably fit for admission as a legal practitioner – HELD: Application refused.

Criminal Law– appeal and new trial and inquiry after conviction – appeal and new trial – appeal against sentence – grounds for interference – general principles – where appellant pleaded guilty to trafficking and possessing cannabis sativa and possessing money knowingly obtained from trafficking – where trafficking conviction based solely upon appellant's admissions – where the appellant, who was 23 at the time of the offence, had excellent prospects of rehabilitation – where appellant sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended after four months, with an operational period of three years – where sentencing judge did not impose individual sentences for each count on the indictment – whether judge erred by not imposing individual sentences for each count, requiring the Court of Appeal to re-exercise the sentencing discretion – HELD: Application for leave to appeal granted; Appeal allowed; Sentence imposed on 14 December 2007 set aside and instead substitute order that applicant be sentenced on count 1, to two years imprisonment and on each of counts 2 and 3, to three months imprisonment; The date the applicant be released on parole is fixed at 5 March 2008.

Criminal Law – Appeal and new trial and inquiry after conviction – appeal and new trial – particular grounds misdirection and non-direction – general matters – other matters – where the appellant was convicted of one count of rape – where the jury were improperly informed that the appellant had a criminal history – where the appellant did not give evidence – where the primary judge gave directions to the jury to disregard the appellant’s criminal history – whether the prejudicial effect of the evidence of the appellant’s criminal history was overcome by the directions given – whether the failure of the primary judge to exercise his discretion and discharge the jury and order a retrial resulted in a miscarriage of justice – Objections and points not raised in courts below – where appeal allowed – where evidence was admitted of uncharged acts of workplace physical contact, touching and sexual banter by the appellant – where there was an absence of particulars – where there was no objection to the evidence at trial – whether the evidence was inadmissible – whether the probative value of the evidence outweighed its prejudicial effect – whether the jury should have been directed to disregard the evidence – whether the admission of the evidence resulted in a miscarriage of justice – Misdirection and Non-Direction – general matters – other matters – where there were inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence – where the complainant had an extensive criminal record, including convictions for offences involving dishonesty – whether the primary judge’s directions in relation to the complainant’s credibility and evidence were adequate – whether the failure to give more specific directions in relation to complainant’s evidence and credibility resulted in a miscarriage of justice – Miscarriage of Justice – generally – where evidence was wrongly admitted – where the reception of inadmissible evidence was not addressed by appropriate directions – whether concerns as to the complainant’s credibility and evidence warranted more specific directions by the primary judge – whether, when viewed as a whole, the guilt of the appellant could be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt – whether there was a miscarriage of justice within the meaning of s 668E(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) – HELD: Allow the appeal; Set aside the verdict; Order a re-trial.

Criminal Law – Appeal and new trial and inquiry after conviction – appeal and new trial – appeal against sentence – appeal by convicted person – applications to reduce sentence – when granted – generally – where the applicant was convicted on his pleas of guilty to two counts of bomb threats – where the bomb threat was not taken seriously – where the applicant had significant mitigating factors – where the applicant was sentenced to six months imprisonment wholly suspended for two years – whether the sentence imposed in the circumstances was manifestly excessive – HELD: Application for leave to appeal against sentence allowed; Appeal against sentence allowed and orders below set aside; In their stead and subject to the applicant agreeing to the order being made after explanation to him required by s 95 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), the applicant is sentenced to probation for six months on the conditions in s 93 of that Act, together with a special condition that the applicant comply with such anger management and alcohol management as directed by an authorised Corrective Services Officer; The applicant must report to an authorised Corrective Services Officer at a time and place agreed between the parties or in default thereof, such time and place as are specified by a judge of the District Court; The Court makes the recommendation that the applicant’s probation be transferred to New South Wales; That no conviction be recorded.

Criminal Law – appeal and new trial and inquiry after conviction – appeal and new trial – appeal against sentence – grounds for interference – general principles – where applicant pleaded guilty to aiding a person to escape from lawful custody, supplying drugs within a correctional facility, unlawful supply of weapons and stealing as a servant – where applicant sentenced to three six month cumulative sentences for counts 1 and 4, 2 and 3 and 5 respectively with a parole release date after serving nine months – where applicant involved in failed plan to help a prisoner escape from a correctional facility – where applicant withdrew from plan before the plan was detected – where sentencing judge gave applicant a s 13A Penalties and Sentences Act reduction in sentence of 50 per cent for statements given to police implicating others in the plan – where applicant was a young man with real prospects of rehabilitation, showed remorse and assisted the administration of justice – whether sentencing judge erred in accumulating terms of imprisonment – whether sentencing judge erred in giving applicant only the s 13A reduction and no further reduction in sentence or parole release for other mitigating factors – whether the sentence is manifestly excessive – HELD: Application for leave to appeal granted; Appeal allowed; Vary the sentence imposed only by vacating the parole release date fixed on 22 July 2008 and instead substituting a parole release date fixed on 22 April 2008.

Criminal Law – appeal and new trial and inquiry after conviction – appeal against sentence – grounds for interference – disparity - generally – where applicant pleaded guilty to one count of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child under 16 years, two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 years, and six counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 years – where indecent treatment counts accompanied by aggravating circumstance that the child was in his care – where applicant sentenced to seven years and nine months imprisonment, with eligibility for parole after three years –– where relevant acts in maintaining charge included the applicant sucking, rubbing lubricant on and masturbating the complainant’s penis, and procuring the complainant to sodomise the applicant – where six indecent treatment counts involved relatively brief incidents of touching the genitals or genital areas of two complainants – where two indecent treatment counts involved the applicant supplying alcohol to, and showing pornography to, three of the complainants – where victim impact statements demonstrated deleterious effects upon two of the complainants – where applicant had no criminal history – where applicant did not use violence – where offending, with the exception of the procuring of sodomy, was at the lower end of the scale – whether sentence manifestly excessive – HELD: Application for leave to appeal against sentence allowed; Set aside the sentences imposed at first instance; Substitute a sentence of six months imprisonment on count 7 on Indictment 4428/07; Substitute sentences of two years imprisonment on counts 1-6 and 8 on Indictment 4428/07; Substitute a sentence of six years and nine months imprisonment on the maintaining count on Indictment 4429/07; Fix the parole eligibility date at 20 December 2008