Criminal Law – Trial - Miscarriage of justice - Competence of counsel - Alleged failure to take instructions - Alleged failure to understand elements of offence and relevant statutory provisions - Alleged failure to be familiar with applicable judicial decisions.
Appeal – Criminal appeal - Miscarriage of justice - Competence of counsel - Application of "proviso" - Whether denial of fair trial may sometimes without more amount to miscarriage of justice.
Legal practitioners – Criminal trial - Competence of counsel and of solicitor - Alleged failures to take instructions, to understand elements of offence and to consider applicable judicial decisions - Extent to which, if at all, alleged incompetence contributed to any miscarriage of justice - Whether in some circumstances miscarriage of justice includes denial of fair trial according to law without more.
Words and phrases – "on any ground whatsoever there was a miscarriage of justice".
Criminal Code (Q) – s 668E(1).
Judgment date
Case number
B22/2005
Before
Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Kirby, Hayne, Callinan, Heydon JJ
Catchwords