Blum v The State of Western Australia [No 2]

In the matter of Blum v The State of Western Australia, the appellant was convicted of receiving stolen property. The appeal against the conviction centred on the admissibility of an alleged admission made by the appellant to a police officer, which was not recorded by any audiovisual means. Despite the absence of a recording, the admission was presented during the trial without objection. The court was tasked with determining whether the trial judge erred in allowing this evidence and if such an error led to a miscarriage of justice.

The primary legal issue revolved around the application of the hearsay rule and its exceptions in the context of the unrecorded admission. The court examined whether the trial judge appropriately exercised his discretion under the law to admit the evidence. Furthermore, it was necessary to assess whether the inclusion of this evidence had a significant impact on the outcome of the trial, thereby constituting a miscarriage of justice.

The court held that the trial judge did not err in admitting the unrecorded admission, as the appellant had not objected to its presentation at trial. The court found that the evidence was properly before it and weighed against the totality of the evidence. The court concluded that even if there was an error in admitting the evidence, it did not result in a miscarriage of justice. The conviction was therefore upheld, and the appeal against the conviction was dismissed.