Director of Pointless Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC savaged again over weak drug case

The state’s chief prosecutor Sally Dowling SC is under more pressure after a judge savaged another weak case - this time a drug manufacturing allegation made against a Sydney painter.

The state’s chief prosecutor is under more pressure after a judge savaged a weak drug manufacturing case brought against a Sydney painter before ordering tax payers pick up the six figure tab for his legal bill.

In a court case that will heap further misery on Director of Public Prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, Luka Zoric was awarded costs in the District Court this month after he was found not guilty on eight drug related charges.

In ordering the state to pay Zoric’s costs -- estimated to be worth several hundred thousand dollars -- Judge Craig Everson SC criticised the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution’s decision to run the case.

“…This prosecution of the applicant Zoric was instituted, and maintained, either without any proper professional advertence to whether there existed reasonable prospects of securing a conviction…,” Judge Everson told the court on March 1.

District Court Judge Craig Everson SC. Picture NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard.

Since last year, Ms Dowling’s office has been criticised by a long line of District court judges who have given scathing remarks about sexual assault cases that should not have been prosecuted because the evidence was weak.

Zoric’s case shows the issue is not confined to sexual assault matters.

Ms Dowling declined to be interviewed on the issue.

Zoric was acquitted of eight charges relating to the manufacture of millions of dollars worth of cocaine and methamphetamine in a trial that ran last year.

He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a damaged air rifle.

Zoric’s lawyers John Korn and Abdul Tlais made several applications requesting the charges be dropped because the case was “weak”, but they were rejected by the prosecuting office.

In arguing for costs to be awarded, Mr Korn told the court it was “not reasonable” for Zoric to have been prosecuted in the first place.

Barister John Korn. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The barrister also told the court “there was no act or omission (by his client) that contributed or might have contributed to the institution or continuation of the proceedings.”

One of the key pieces of evidence used against Zoric was audio visual footage that the Crown claimed showed he was part of a joint criminal enterprise in a drug manufacturing syndicate with a number of other men.

Judge Everson was highly critical of the quality of the evidence.

“Some uttered words can be heard but it is mainly inaudible,” Judge Everson told the court. “It was unclear as to who was speaking because at various times people had their backs to the camera, were in view of the camera, wearing a surgical mask, or people were speaking at the same time.”

The judge told the court the Crown did not act on his warnings to improve the quality of the evidence.

“Remarkably, no attempt was made by the Crown to deploy hardware that might have enhanced what could have been heard in that footage,” he told the court.

Sally Dowling.

“That included the readily available hearing loops that are in the courtroom, nor was any attempt made to adduce an aide-memoire in the form of a transcript of what was said…”

The judge also savaged the Crown Prosecutor for making arguments without legal authority to back them up and drawing inferences about Zoric’s connection to the drugs without ruling out other possibilities.

In his submissions, Mr Korn illustrated 14 points , including that the surveillance and audio devices stored at Kennards, which claimed to tie Zoric to the drug syndicate, were “mainly inaudible”.

Zoric was one of a number of men arrested after a major police investigation in 2021.

The investigation saw a Pemulwuy home searched on August 12, 2021 where police seized 20 white handy pails, containing a total of 450.265 kilograms of grey sludge containing the 60.951 kilograms of pure cocaine.

A raid on a property in Pyramul village saw police seize almost 40kg of cocaine. The investigators also seized $3.1 million cash.

Judge Everson analysed the weakness of each of the charges against Zoric.

This included that the evidence against Zoric was “incapable of establishing” that he had “handled and/or transported ingredients” used in the drug manufacture.

A decision on the amount of costs will be given at a later date.