The reference appeal against the acquittal of a young woman accused of murdering apprentice chef Cameron Anderson has been pushed back at least four months.
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Lawyers for the acquitted woman, who cannot be named because she was just 17 at the time of Mr Anderson's death in September 2008, this morning successfully lobbied for Justice Richard Refshauge to vacate the hearing date.
The hearing, which focuses on points of law and cannot lead to the now-20-year-old woman being convicted, was listed to start on Monday.
But defence lawyer Kelly Irvine argued the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions served their submissions on the defence 10 days late.
She contended the material canvassed circumstantial evidence raised during the February trial, and placed the defence in a difficult position because of the delay.
Prosecutor Travis Jackson, however, argued the Crown did not seek to re-litigate the facts and had filed the submissions within the rules.
"However in all honesty we could sit here and argue the point but...where we go from here is more important," he said.
The prosecution had briefed Sydney silk Carolyn Davenport SC to appear for the Crown, in a break from director Jon White's stance of handling cases in-house.
Mr Jackson said the Crown was ready to proceed with the matter.
"We do have interested family members of the [deceased]...given the matter it does raise some emotions," he told Justice Refshauge.
But the judge agreed to vacate the hearing date and a new date must now be set.
Mr Jackson yesterday told the ACT Court of Appeal the director's office would seek to have the matter listed in the first appeal sittings of 2012, beginning in February.
Mr Anderson's body was found on a garden bed at the rear of a childcare centre on the morning of September 1, 2008.
He had been stabbed eight times.
The 19-year-old was captured on CCTV walking with the young woman away from the Green Square nightspot in Kingston in the early hours of the morning.
Chief Justice Terence Higgins found the accused woman not guilty of Mr Anderson's murder in February, finding she acted in self-defence when she stabbed the chef.
The judge ruled Mr Anderson raped the young woman and she lashed out in self-defence.
But the prosecution has argued Chief Justice Higgins committed errors of law in coming to his verdict.
