McPhillamy v The Queen

In McPhillamy v The Queen, the High Court held that tendency evidence which related to acts committed ten years prior to the charged acts did not possess significant probative value and was therefore inadmissible. In essence, the evidence was flawed because of amount of time that had elapsed between the charged acts and the acts … Continue reading McPhillamy v The Queen →

Hughes v R: Assessing significant probative value for tendency evidence

(The post was originally published on Amicus on 14 June 2017) In a 4:3 decision, the High Court handed down judgement today in Hughes v R. In doing so it resolved a divergence between the VSCA and the NSWCCA regarding how to determine whether tendency evidence has significant probative value. This post will outline the … Continue reading Hughes v R: Assessing significant probative value for tendency evidence →

Minogue v State of Victoria

In Minogue v Victoria, the High Court has rejected an application to declare certain provisions of the Corrections Act (Vic) constitutionally invalid. In doing so, the Court has affirmed Crump and Knight.and discussed the distinction between the executive and judicial powers in the context of parole decisions. The applicant was sentenced to life in prison … Continue reading Minogue v State of Victoria →

Pell v The Queen – unreasonable verdicts and ‘beyond reasonable doubt’

(This post was originally published on Amicus on 8 April 2020) In Pell v The Queen the High Court has unanimously allowed an appeal from the Victorian Court of Appeal's (VCA) majority decision to reject a conviction appeal. The High Court held that the jury should have held reasonable doubts about the guilt of the … Continue reading Pell v The Queen – unreasonable verdicts and ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ →

Guode – infanticide, mental impairment and sentencing

In Guode by a 3:2 majority, the High Court has allowed a Crown appeal from a VSCA decision with the the majority holding that that the VSCA erred in taking into account guilty plea to infanticide as a consideration in determining sentences for murder and attempted murder. CONTENT WARNING: Child homicide Factual and procedural background … Continue reading Guode – infanticide, mental impairment and sentencing →

Swan – Causation in murder and the ‘substantial cause’ test

Originally posted on Amicus on 18 March 2020. The High Court handed down judgment today in Swan, dismissing an appeal from the NSWCCA. The question on appeal was whether it was open to the jury - as one of three possible causation pathways - to conclude that the appellant's attack on the victim substantially caused … Continue reading Swan – Causation in murder and the ‘substantial cause’ test →

Strbak – the right to silence in contested facts hearings on sentence

Yesterday, in Strbak the High Court allowed an appeal from the QCA, holding that adverse inferences should not be made where the offender declines to give sworn evidence in a contested facts hearing. In doing so, the Court overturned Miller, a QCA authority on this point. CONTENT WARNING: Child homicide Factual Background The Appellant and … Continue reading Strbak – the right to silence in contested facts hearings on sentence →