Butera v Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic)

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr Butera against a decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic). The dispute concerned the admissibility of evidence obtained from Mr Butera following his arrest.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the evidence obtained from Mr Butera was admissible, given the circumstances of his arrest and the subsequent questioning. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the evidence was obtained in contravention of the *Crimes Act 1958* (Vic) and, if so, whether it should be excluded under the court's discretion.

The High Court held that the arrest of Mr Butera was unlawful. Consequently, the evidence obtained as a result of that unlawful arrest was inadmissible. The Court applied the principle that evidence obtained in contravention of a statute, particularly where the contravention involves a breach of an accused's rights, should generally be excluded unless there are strong reasons to the contrary. The Court found no such reasons in this instance and exercised its discretion to exclude the evidence.