Van Beelen v The Queen

[2017] HCA 48
Judgment date
Case number
A8/2017
Before
Bell, Gageler, Keane, Nettle, Edelman JJ
Catchwords

Criminal law – Appeal against conviction – Second or subsequent appeal – Application for permission to appeal pursuant to s 353A(1) of Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) – Where appellant convicted of murder – Where expert evidence of time of death given at trial based on stomach contents of deceased – Where new evidence demonstrated expert estimation of time of death at trial erroneous – Where new evidence required to be fresh and compelling in order to be admitted – Where evidence compelling if reliable, substantial and highly probative in context of issues in dispute at trial – Whether new evidence substantial – Whether new evidence highly probative in context of issues in dispute at trial – Whether in interests of justice to consider new evidence on appeal – Whether admission of evidence based on stomach contents at trial occasioned substantial miscarriage of justice – Whether significant possibility jury acting reasonably would have acquitted had new evidence been before it.

Words and phrases – "compelling", "fresh evidence", "highly probative in the context of the issues in dispute at the trial", "second or subsequent appeal", "substantial", "substantial miscarriage of justice".

Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) – s 353A.

Files
48.rtf (253.14 KB)
48.pdf (255.29 KB)