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[2009] HCA 17
High Court of Australia
2009-04-29
Atkinson J, French CJ, Bell JJ
Original judgment source is linked above.
P J Callaghan SC with P E Smith and A M Hoare for the appellant (instructed by Ryan & Bosscher Lawyers)
A W Moynihan SC with B J Power for the respondent (instructed by Director of Public Prosecutions (Qld))
Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.
Criminal law - Evidence - Joint murder trial - Admissibility of evidence adduced by accused of bad character or propensity of co-accused - Whether appellant prevented by trial judge from fully adducing relevant admissible evidence - Whether jury misdirected as to use of evidence of appellant's bad character.
Words and phrases - "substantial miscarriage of justice".
"[I]f you want to have a collateral trial of whether or not he committed those offences, then you take yourself out of, I would have thought, admissible evidence."
"With regard to Jones' interview and his expression of fear of Roughan because of his knowledge of Roughan being charged with attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, which is not objected to by [counsel for Roughan], I will allow evidence of that. It does appear as if it will have to be led by the Crown but it is not at the Crown's insistence to lead it because it is being requested by [counsel for the appellant] in furtherance of his case and not objected to by [counsel for Roughan].
At present I'm minded to allow limited questioning of the arresting officer on that matter but I haven't yet decided to what extent I will allow you to question him on that. I can see that it is a positive advantage to Jones' case that the arresting officer confirms that he was arrested for that offence and there may be some limited details that may be of assistance to Jones' case but to the extent that it then starts to become a collateral - a trial of collateral issues, that is, whether or not Roughan actually committed that offence I won't allow questions as to that." (Emphasis added)
"[M]y view is that I should allow you to cross-examine the arresting officer about those matters [that Roughan was on bail on a charge of stabbing a mate], but any further than that I don't think it goes to anything that's relevant in this case and it's very prejudicial to Roughan.
COUNSEL: Well, just on the prejudice aspect, that's not a basis for excluding it, your Honour, as I understand the authorities.
HER HONOUR: Well, it's not relevant. I can't see how it goes to - positively goes to your case."
Shortly after this ruling the appellant's counsel applied for a separate trial. He submitted:
"I am not allowed as I understand your Honour's ruling to cross-examine the police officer about the attempted murder in detail, I'm not allowed to lead from the - or cross-examine the witness Hore about the statement [Roughan] made to her about the attempted murder charge".
"Your Honour, I just renew my application to lead the evidence that your Honour ruled that I couldn't ask about in relation to Roughan's committing the - or being charged with the offence of stabbing his mate, and I wish to refer to the QP9 which your Honour ruled I couldn't. That there has been an attempt to put evidence of good character before the jury of Roughan and as the Crown Prosecutor has said, he will re-open the case if your Honour wishes to re-consider that ruling. I submit that it has been raised in that positive light albeit no convictions in Queensland and some minor discrepancies or minor touches with the law where he's only received a caution.
HER HONOUR: It would be different I think if he'd been convicted of it but the problem with his being charged with it is that he is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the dangers of the prejudicial effect of it. The fact that he has been charged with stabbing a mate and was on bail is itself, I think, relevant to your case and that's why I've allowed you to lead that. So I've tried to, in that difficult case, walk the line between allowing you to lead what's probative in your case but not allowing it to go over the line into something that's unduly prejudicial in Roughan's case and so I don't think I'll change my mind."
"[E]vidence that is only admissible against James Roughan is evidence that you have heard in this case that Chris Jones has used illegal drugs such as speed and cannabis and has some criminal convictions. That is only relevant in the prosecution case against James Roughan to endeavour to demonstrate that James Roughan was a less violent and dishonest person than Jones. You must not use it for any other purpose. You may not seek to draw some inference from it that because Chris Jones has committed other offences, or has been said to be involved in undesirable conduct, that he is therefore more likely to have committed the offence you are considering. In other words it would be quite wrong for you to say having heard that evidence that the defendant is the sort of person likely to have committed the offence. If you accept this evidence you may use it only to consider whether it [assists] the prosecution in the way I have described to prove its case against James Roughan."
The evidence of the appellant's criminal convictions was led without objection. No application was made at the trial for a re-direction arising out of her Honour's direction concerning the evidence. The direction was not the subject of a ground of appeal in the Court of Appeal. Roughan challenged a direction in like terms relating to the evidence that he was on bail for another offence involving stabbing a mate. Keane JA pointed out that it was an error to invite the jury to reason from the fact that Roughan had been charged with an offence that he was a person of more violent disposition than the appellant. His Honour went on to observe that the direction - that evidence may be used to establish that the appellant was of a less violent disposition than Roughan, but not that Roughan was the sort of person likely to have committed the offence - involved a distinction so fine as to be illusory[21]. When his Honour came to consider the appellant's case he concluded that the direction relating to the appellant's bad character was wrong for the latter reason[22]. McMurdo J agreed with Keane JA's criticism of the direction relating to Roughan's bad character[23]. However, his Honour did not consider that the direction relating to the appellant's bad character was wrong. He considered that it was a direction that the jury would be able to understand and apply[24]. In McMurdo J's view, there was no risk that the jury would reason towards the appellant's guilt from knowledge of his convictions. This provided an explanation for the stance that his counsel had taken in not objecting to the evidence; he wished to have the jury compare the appellant's relatively minor matters with knowledge that Roughan was charged with an offence involving the stabbing of a mate[25]. 2. Muir JA expressed his general agreement with the reasons both of Keane JA and McMurdo J[26]. It was accepted on the appeal that this Court should treat the Court of Appeal as having held that the direction concerning the appellant's bad character was a misdirection and, accordingly, no occasion arises to consider the difference between the views expressed by Keane JA and McMurdo J on this question. 3. Keane JA discussed the proviso in s 668E(1A) of the Criminal Code (Q) in the course of addressing Roughan's appeal[27]. Roughan's appeal succeeded because the admission of the evidence that he had been charged with stabbing a mate was irretrievably prejudicial. The prejudice was exacerbated by a direction that this evidence could be used, when considering the appellant's case, as confirming that the appellant was of a less violent disposition than Roughan. His Honour held upon a review of the trial that it was not possible to be satisfied of Roughan's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. In this context he observed that the Court was not in a position to assess the reliability of the evidence of the three accomplices. 4. Keane JA did not think that the evidence of the appellant's bad character was significantly prejudicial. In his opinion it was not capable of supporting an inference that the appellant was disposed to engage in the kind of murderous assault to which the deceased was subject, much less that he was more likely to have done so than Roughan[28]. 5. In Weiss v The Queen it was said that there are cases in which it is possible for an appellate court to conclude that an error at trial would have had no significance in determining the verdict[29]. This was such a case. Keane JA described the impugned direction in the appellant's case as innocuous. He observed that it had occasioned no real forensic disadvantage to the appellant[30]. Given the issues in the trial and the conduct of it, which included the trial judge's direction as to the use the jury might make of the evidence of Roughan's bad character, this assessment of the effect of the misdirection was well open. Moreover, after a detailed review of the evidence Keane JA concluded that the case against the appellant was one of overwhelming strength[31]. That conclusion was also well open. 6. The Court of Appeal did not err in finding that no substantial miscarriage of justice actually occurred in the trial of the appellant. 7. For these reasons the appeal should be dismissed. 8. HAYNE J. I agree that the appeal should be dismissed. I agree with the joint reasons. 9. There is no occasion in this case to decide whether or when evidence about the alleged propensity to violence of a co‑accused would be admissible. The particular evidence which it was sought to lead about the alleged propensity to violence of the appellant's co‑accused was hearsay and for that reason not admissible. 10. In Lowery v The Queen, the Privy Council said[32] that in the circumstances of that case it would be unjust to prevent either of two co‑accused from calling any evidence of probative value which could point to the probability that the perpetrator was the one rather than the other. Accordingly, expert evidence said to show[33] that one of two men accused of a brutal murder had a "basic callousness", and that the other did not, was held[34] to be relevant and admissible. Some emphasis was given[35] to the fact that the accused who was alleged to have a "basic callousness" had put his character in issue, but the proposition that it would be unjust to prevent the adducing of any evidence of this kind was not expressed in terms that readily admit of qualification. And as Lord Steyn later rightly pointed out in R v Randall[36], it may be doubted that the Privy Council was correct to say in Lowery[37] that the evidence in question was "not related to ... criminal tendencies". 11. These questions apart, the House of Lords held in Randall[38] that one of two co‑accused jointly tried for murder was entitled to tender evidence of the propensity to violence of the other co‑accused as relevant to the issues between the prosecution and the accused tendering the evidence. The evidence was treated as relevant not only to the co‑accused's credibility, but also the likelihood of his having attacked the deceased. 12. Whether the applicable principle is expressed as it was in Lowery or as it was in Randall, the adducing of evidence by one co‑accused about the propensities of another co‑accused presents real difficulties for the conduct of a trial, especially a joint trial. There may be a question about whether the admissibility of evidence of this kind depends upon the accused against whom the evidence is led having first put his or her character in issue. There are also other more deep‑seated questions that may require examination. In particular, if it is suggested that where each of two co‑accused attributes guilt of the offence to the other, one may tender evidence about the criminal propensities of the other, there is no little risk of the trial being diverted into the byways of collateral issues about the nature, extent and probative significance of those propensities. And questions like whether or how a rule of the kind described in Pfennig v The Queen[39] could, or should, be applied in these circumstances, or whether a rule of that kind, if applied, would address the fears that the tribunal of fact would be diverted from focusing upon the central issues that are being tried in the matter, are questions that did not arise and were not examined in argument in this matter. Nor was there any consideration of whether or when, if evidence of the criminal propensities of one co‑accused is to be admitted, the trial should nonetheless continue as a joint trial. These are questions that are to be reserved for another day.
Under s 13A of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Q). ↑
The Notice of Appeal contains a third ground, 1(c), which was abandoned. ↑
Notice of Appeal, par 1(b): "The Learned Trial Judge misdirected the jury in directing them that they could use the evidence of the Appellant's bad character to reason that the co-offender was a less violent and dishonest person than the appellant." ↑
Section 668E(1A) of the Criminal Code (Q) provides that the court may, notwithstanding that it is of the opinion that the point or points raised by the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, dismiss the appeal if it considers that no substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 404 [73] per Keane JA, 406 [88] per Muir JA, 410 [101] per McMurdo J. ↑
R v Freer and Weekes [2004] QCA 97 at [81]-[91] per Jerrard JA (Jones and Holmes JJ agreeing). ↑
Bannon v The Queen (1995) 185 CLR 1; [1995] HCA 27; see also Nicholls v The Queen (2005) 219 CLR 196 at 266 [183] per Gummow and Callinan JJ; [2005] HCA 1 and Ali v The Queen (2005) 79 ALJR 662 at 665 [11] per Gleeson CJ, 666 [21] per Hayne J (McHugh J agreeing); 214 ALR 1 at 5, 6; [2005] HCA 8. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 403 [68]-[70] per Keane JA, 406 [88] per Muir JA, 410 [102] per McMurdo J. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 403 [72]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 410 [102]. ↑
(1988) 165 CLR 292 at 294-295; [1998] HCA 50. ↑
Pfennig v The Queen (1995) 182 CLR 461 at 483 per Mason CJ, Deane and Dawson JJ; [1995] HCA 7. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 405-406 [80]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 401 [59]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 406 [81]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 408 [94]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 410-411 [105]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 410-411 [105]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 406 [88]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 402 [62]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 406 [82]-[83]. ↑
Weiss v The Queen (2005) 224 CLR 300; [2005] HCA 81. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 406 [83]. ↑
R v Roughan and Jones (2007) 179 A Crim R 389 at 406 [83]. ↑
Jones
The Queen
[2004] QCA 97
[1995] HCA 27
[1998] HCA 50
[2002] WASCA 44
(1995) 185 CLR 1
(2005) 219 CLR 196
(2005) 79 ALJR 662
(1988) 165 CLR 292
(1995) 182 CLR 461
(2002) 76 ALJR 1024
(2005) 224 CLR 300