Andrew O’Brien (with C J Tessmann) appeared for the appellant, instructed by McGinness & Associates.
The judgment concerned an appeal against conviction, regarding a previous judgment where the appellant was found to have committed murder.
The grounds of appeal were whether the trial judge erred in instructing the jury that they could conclude that any of the four purported lies made to undercover police officers evidenced a consciousness of guilt, and whether the trial judge’s directions were insufficient to correctly direct the jury on how to use those statements to infer guilt of murder, manslaughter or another offence.
The Court held that the trial judge correctly directed the jury regarding both grounds, however the summing up dealt with the lies collectively and imprecisely, creating a real risk that the jury impermissibly used the statements to conclude guilt of murder beyond reasonable doubt. The Court found that this imprecision deprived the appellant of a fair chance of acquittal occasioning a miscarriage of justice. The appeal was allowed and a retrial ordered.
The judgment can be read by clicking here
