Likiardopoulos v The Queen

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIAFRENCH CJ,GUMMOW, HAYNE, HEYDON, CRENNAN, KIEFEL AND BELL JJDIMITRIOS LIKIARDOPOULOS  APPELLANTANDTHE QUEEN  RESPONDENTLikiardopoulos v The Queen[2012] HCA 3714 September 2012M24/2012ORDERAppeal dismissed.On appeal from the Supreme Court of VictoriaRepresentationM J Croucher SC with L C Carter on behalf of the appellant (instructed by Lewenberg & Lewenberg)G J C Silbert SC with B L Sonnet for the respondent (instructed by Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Vic)) Notice:  This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.CATCHWORDSLikiardopoulos v The QueenCriminal law – Murder – Accessorial liability – Appellant convicted of murder – Crown accepted guilty pleas from five other participants to lesser offences – Trial judge left to jury Crown case based on accessorial liability – Whether appellant could be convicted as accessory to murder when Crown had accepted pleas from all other participants to lesser charges – Whether trial judge should have left accessorial case to jury – Whether Crown could lead evidence that other participants murdered the deceased – Whether inconsistency between convictions of other participants and accused – Whether exercise of prosecutorial discretion an abuse of process. Words and phrases – "abuse of process", "accessory", "aiding and abetting", "counselling or procuring", "principal", "prosecutorial discretion".Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 323.FRENCH CJ.   I agree with the order proposed in the joint judgment and, subject to one reservation, with the reasons which their Honours give for that order.  That reservation relates to an observation in the joint judgment concerning...