Stationaire8
Tasmania may have some quirky laws but the charge was brought under Commonwealth legislation. The Feds uses the state court structure to hear breaches of Commonwealth laws and Commonwealth processes apply.
Further, I don't think it is up to the Tasmanian DPP, Tim Ellis, to decide about the future of any appeal but rather the Commonwealth DPP.
Bit embarrassing to have to admit that you have lost some evidence along the way though. Justice Slicer does not tolerate fools easily and I expect that there were some harsh words for counsel for the Government when that came to light.
