AM v The Queen

The appeal concerned a conviction for an offence under section 192 of the Northern Territory Criminal Code. The appellant, AM, sought to appeal against this conviction. The Court of Criminal Appeal of the Northern Territory was tasked with determining the merits of this appeal.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the jury's verdicts were inconsistent, whether the verdict was unreasonable, and whether there had been an error in the exclusion of certain evidence during the trial. The Court also considered the potential for duplicity in the indictment.

The Court reasoned that while inconsistent verdicts can, in some circumstances, lead to an appeal being allowed, the verdicts in this instance were not so inherently contradictory as to render them unreasonable. However, the Court found that certain evidence had been incorrectly excluded, which had a material impact on the fairness of the trial. This error, coupled with concerns about the indictment's duplicity, led the Court to conclude that the conviction could not stand. The Court applied principles relating to the assessment of inconsistent verdicts and the impact of evidentiary errors on the safety of a conviction, drawing on established High Court authority.

Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the conviction was set aside, and a retrial was ordered.