Stacey Young

The appellant appealed his convictions for aggravated sexual assault arising from his failure to disclose his HIV-positive status before engaging in unprotected anal intercourse with two complainants.

The appellant argued the trial judge erred by failing to instruct the jury to acquit if they found the complainants were reckless or prepared to assume the risks of unprotected sex.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that a complainant's past risky sexual behaviour does not negate an accused's legal duty to disclose a significant risk of serious bodily harm.

The court also found no reversible error in the trial judge's failure to give a Vetrovec warning, his jury instructions on the evidence, or his failure to give a limiting instruction regarding the appellant's text messages.

The appellant pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and driving without insurance after driving his motorcycle while intoxicated and crashing, resulting in the death of his passenger.

He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.

On appeal, he argued the sentencing judge erred in treating his guilty plea, assessing aggravating factors, and calculating pre-sentence custody.

The Court of Appeal found an error in the pre-sentence custody calculation and increased the credit, but otherwise dismissed the appeal, finding the six-year sentence fit given the gravity of the offence.

The appellant, a permanent resident, pleaded guilty to robbery and was subsequently deported.

He appealed his conviction, arguing his guilty plea was uninformed due to ineffective assistance of counsel, as his lawyer allegedly failed to advise him of the immigration consequences.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the appellant was already subject to a stayed deportation order and knew that further criminal convictions could lead to deportation.

Even if counsel's performance was deficient, there was no miscarriage of justice because the appellant understood deportation was a potential consequence of his plea.