Blessington v The Queen; Elliott v The Queen

The High Court of Australia considered appeals by Blessington and Elliott against their convictions for conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of heroin. The applicants were convicted in the Supreme Court of New South Wales following a trial by jury. Their appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales were dismissed.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in admitting certain evidence, specifically intercepted communications, against the applicants. The applicants argued that the evidence was inadmissible because it had been obtained in contravention of statutory provisions governing the interception of telecommunications. A further issue concerned the admissibility of evidence relating to the applicants' alleged involvement in a prior, separate conspiracy.

Gummow and Heydon JJ, in a joint judgment, held that the intercepted communications were admissible. Their Honours reasoned that the relevant statutory provisions did not render evidence obtained in contravention of those provisions automatically inadmissible. Instead, the court retained a discretion to admit such evidence, provided it was relevant and its probative value outweighed any prejudice. The judges found that the trial judge had properly exercised this discretion. Regarding the evidence of the prior conspiracy, the Court held that it was admissible as it tended to show a common intention or system between the applicants and others, thus proving the existence of the conspiracy charged.

The appeals were dismissed.