George Pell files supplementary material in hopes of quick appeal decision
George Pell’s lawyers have filed supplementary material with the High Court in hopes of a quick decision on his appeal. The move follows experts’ earlier tips that his bid for freedom could be a successful one.
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Lawyers for George Pell have already filed supplementary material with the High Court amid hopes of a quick decision in his appeal.
The Cardinal’s legal team were asked to file a short note on the evidentiary relationship between the two separate incidents of abuse of which he was convicted.
The note was filed last night following the second and final day of his appeal.
Sources close to the case doubt the issue will impact the decision in any significant way.
Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd, QC, now has until early next week to file a response to the note.
The full bench of the High Court has reserved its decision to be handed down at a later date.
Legal experts have tipped a positive result for Pell, and say if that is the case, it is likely the court will return a decision quickly.
Pell is serving a minimum three-year and eight-month jail term for abusing two choirboys in the sacristy of St Patrick’s Cathedral while he was Archbishop in the 1990s.
But he is vehemently maintained his innocence, with his legal team arguing that the jury was wrong to convict.
Pell’s lawyers have argued that despite the credibility of the only living complainant, there were too many improbabilities for the jury to overcome without having a reasonable doubt.
The update follows indication Pell is set to successfully overturn his convictions for child sexual abuse, according to legal experts.
The High Court of Australia on Thursday reserved its decision following the second and final day of the former Vatican treasurer’s appeal, during which prosecutors were accused of changing their case on the run.
Lawyers in attendance later agreed the appeal, against a majority decision in the Victorian Court of Appeal which upheld his convictions, was likely to succeed.
University of Melbourne law professor Jeremy Gans, who was in Canberra for the hearing, said yesterday was a “very good day for Pell”.
“There’s clearly a chance of an acquittal arising out of this appeal,” Prof Gans said. “However, even if Pell succeeds, it may not mean the end of his legal saga that has now included a committal, two trials and two appeals.”
It was a torrid day for Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions, Kerri Judd QC.
She argued that if the court found an error in the Court of Appeal’s judgment upholding the convictions for sex assaults on two choirboys, it should revisit all the evidence itself or send the matter back to the Court of Appeal.
Bret Walker SC, for Pell, said either option would be an injustice because of delay. Yesterday he urged the court to finalise the matter.
In a stunning attack, Mr Walker accused the DPP of “prosecutorial improvisation” and argued she was changing the parameters of the case on the run. That included changing the prosecution’s stance on key evidence.
“It really won’t do for the Crown to be cobbling together matters at this stage,” he said.
In a concession that could be key to the entire appeal, Ms Judd accepted the evidence of a key cathedral figure, if accepted, could raise a reasonable doubt as to the guilt of Pell, now 78.
Monsignor Charles Portelli testified about a post-mass practice of Pell, Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, the year of the allegations, to stand on the steps of St Patrick’s Cathedral and greet parishioners. It has been conceded that if he did that for 10 minutes or more, he would have had no opportunity to offend. The “steps alibi” and the timing of Pell’s opportunity to offend emerged as key to the appeal.
In one of several testy exchanges, after Ms Judd repeatedly said how much material she had to work through, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel told her: “You’re not the only one who has a lot of material … you’re supposed to be taking us through it efficiently.”
READ MORE:
THE VICTIM’S STORY IN HIS OWN WORDS
FALLEN PELL’S FIRST NIGHT BEHIND BARS