The Perils of the Court System !

Every now and then the justice system gets things wrong and an innocent person gets convicted and sent to prison.  There is a general presumption that they will be awarded compensation in such cases, but a lot depends on how their claim is handled.

Such is the situation facing Gordon Wood who was charged with murder when the body of his girlfriend, Carolyn Byrne was found at the bottom of " the Gap " at Sydney's South Head.  That case drew immense public interest because Wood was the chauffeur for controversial stockbroker Reve Rivkin and Carolyn Byrne was a beautiful fashion model.

The case hinged on whether this death was murder - or suicide.  It contained controversial evidence from a body trainer who contended that Ms Byrne's body could not possibly have landed in the position found if she had jumped.  That position could only have occurred if she was " thrown like a spear " by a strong person.  Photographs of the scene tendered showed bush growth would have prevented Ms Byrne running to the edge to launch herself far from the cliff-face.

Mr Wood was found guilty and sentenced to a thirteen year prison term and served more than three years behind bars before his appeal was heard.  That " spear throw " contention was seriously challenged and it was found that the photograph of bush growth was from an entirely different period.  At the time of her death Ms Byrne could have run to the edge and launched herself into space.

At the appeal hearting the judge found Mr Wood was prosecuted " without reasonable and probable cause " and made findings highly critical of Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi SC. but dismissed Wood's claim for damages.  Mr Wood then sued the State of New South Wales for malicious prosecution, claiming millions of dollars in damages.

It is said that the wheels of justice grind slowly and that is certainly so in this case.  Mr Wood is now 57 years old and Ms Byrne was just 24 when she died.  The charge of murder first went to court in 2008 and Mr Wood's appeal was heard in 2012, at which time the guilty verdict was found to be " unreasonable " and suicide could not be excluded.  Mr Wood was then acquitted.

Mr Wood launched a further appeal against the dismissal of his damages claim and that reached conclusion  in the Court if Appeal this week.  The finding handed down found that " malice was not  established " and Mr Wood's appeal was dismissed.  In fact, Mr Woods was ordered to pay court costs.

It serves as a timely warning to all those folk who think that to be wrongly convicted of a serious legal charge will result in compensation for the time spent in prison.  That depends entirely on the nature of the claim, and if you get that wrong you may end up saddled with the costs of the court action.

Such is the mysterious and labyrinthine evolution of the justice system as it considers individual cases on their merit  !