Bradshaw v. The King

Lower Court Judgment

20/03/2025 Supreme Court of Queensland, (Court of Appeal) (Bond JA, Gotterson AJA and Bradley J)

[2025] QCA 172

Catchwords

Criminal law – conviction – murder – miscarriage of justice – impaired capacity – where deceased died in a house fire – where appellant confessed in police interview to setting fire to the house as an act of vengeance – where  appellant disclosed in the police interview mental health treatment and taking medication below the prescribed dose – where police did not suspend questioning and allow appellant to have a support person present under s 422 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) – where pre-trial application to exclude record of police interview refused – where video of police interview played to jury – where trial judge gave no direction to jury of the kind given in Bromley v The Queen (1986) 161 CLR 315 – statutory construction – s 422 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) – whether Court of Appeal erred in finding that ‘external evidence or indicia’ was necessary for a police officer to reasonably suspect that appellant had impaired capacity – whether trial judge’s refusal to exclude police record of interview resulted in miscarriage of justice – whether trial judge’s failure to give a Bromley direction resulted in miscarriage of justice