ERIN Patterson has announced her intentions to appeal her convictions over the 2023 mushroom lunch on the second last day of her appeal window.
Patterson’s barrister Richard Edney announced this morning in a Supreme Court (administrative) meeting, without detailing the grounds for the appeal, as the documentation had not yet been finalised.
Edney will be joined by a new addition to the mushroom cook’s legal team in Julian McMahon SC, a top human rights lawyer who represented members of the Bali Nine, and has built a reputation for “looking after people who no one else really wants to defend”.
McMahon is reportedly asking for extra time to file the appeal, citing a newly introduced rule that allows a limited extension of appeal deadlines.
At the same time, prosecutors argue that the sentence handed down was already too lenient for Patterson.
Patterson’s legal team will be specifically challenging the non-parole period of her life sentence, which was set at 33 years during the proceedings on September 8.
The hearing that took place last week was administrative, dealing with the expiry of a suppression order on pre-trial material, which has now been extended.
When filed, any appeal will be made in the Court of Appeal, not the Supreme Court.
If no appeal goes ahead, the suppressed pre-trial material is expected to be released.
