Michael Bosscher successfully appeals convictions on one count of aggravated fraud and eight counts of falsifying documents

A high-profile Brisbane criminal lawyer has had his convictions for collecting cash from major crime figures to pay himself and lawyer colleagues overturned. Here’s why, and what happens now.

Michael Bosscher leaving the Supreme Court of Qld during his trial. Picture: Liam Kidston

High-profile criminal lawyer Michael Bosscher has won his appeal overturning his conviction for collecting cash from major crime figures to pay himself and lawyer colleagues, and is set to face a retrial.

On Friday the Court of Appeal ruled that the refusal by the judge in his 28-day District Court trial to discharge the jury after Bosscher relapsed into depression causing a 12-day adjournment, was a “miscarriage of justice”.

Justices David Boddice, Susan Brown and Peter Flanagan ruled that the 12-day delay in the middle of his cross examination of star prosecution witness Tim Meehan “was fundamentally prejudicial to” Bosscher “and affected the fairness of his trial”.

After District Court Judge Leanne Clare refused Bosscher’s application to discharge the jury because of the lengthy adjournment, when he had uncontested medical evidence that he had relapsed, the jury went on to convict him.

The jury, which sat in October and November last year, found the 55-year-old veteran lawyer guilty of committing 57 frauds spanning four-and-a-half years, by taking dozens of cash payments from clients at his law firm Bosscher Lawyers Pty Ltd between November 2011 and September 2016.

The payments included drug trafficker Paul Luu paying Bosscher’s colleague Meehan $560,000 for legal representation for himself and other associates.

This included Meehan collecting $250,000 in cash in a garbage bag to pay for a murder trial.

All these convictions were set aside.

In May he was sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

The Court of Appeal ruled that trial Judge Leanne Clare’s “refusal to discharge the jury” midway through the trial occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

“The continuation of the trial after a 12-day delay … resulted in significant prejudice and rendered the trial unfair,” the 40-page reasons states.

“The effect of the trial judge’s refusal to discharge the jury was that (Bosscher), after a 12-day delay, was required to continue with his cross-examination of Meehan, having suffered a relapse of his major depressive disorder, and while functioning at a reduced capacity,” the court ruled.

A solicitor for Bosscher appearing in court on Friday told Justice Boddice that she wished to apply for his release on bail, but Justice Boddice replied he would not accept an application.

“It has ... long been recognised that adjournments which result in the fragmentation of criminal proceedings are highly undesirable,” the decision states.

Bosscher represented himself at his trial except for his discharge application where he was represented by Ruth O’Gorman KC.

Meehan was sentenced to five and a half years in jail over the fraud and released from prison in January 2019.

A new trial has been ordered, no date has been set.