Cheatle & Anor v The Queen

[1993] HCATrans 140

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Office of the Registry

Adelaide No Al9 of 1992

B e t w e e n -

HARVEY HOLLAND CHEATLE

First Appellant

and

BERYL CHEATLE

Second Appellant

and

THE QUEEN

Respondent

Orders

Cheatle(2) 1 3/6/93

MASON CJ

GAUDRON J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT SYDNEY ON THURSDAY, 3 JUNE 1993, AT 9.32 AM

Copyright in the High Court of Australia

MASON CJ:  The Court has reached the conclusion that the

effect of s.80 of the Constitution is that the

provisions of s.57 of the Juries Act 1927 (S.A.)
allowing a majority verdict of guilty to be
returned by a jury in certain circumstances in a
criminal trial are inapplicable to a trial on

indictment of an offence against a law of the

Commonwealth. The result of that conclusion is

that the majority verdict of guilty in each of

these cases cannot stand. The members of the Court

will publish their reasons in relation to that

conclusion in due course. It has been thought

desirable to make the substance of the conclusion

public at this stage for the reason that it may

affect the course of proceedings in other trials

upon indictment of an offence against a law of the

Commonwealth.

The orders of the Court in each case are:

1. Appeal allowed.

2.     Order of the Court of Criminal Appeal of

South Australia set aside and in lieu

thereof it be ordered that the appeal to

that court be allowed, and a new trial

ordered.

It will be a matter for the Crown to determine

whether, in all the circumstances of the case

including the fact that the primary custodial

sentence of each appellant (3 months) has

presumably been served, a new trial should actually

take place.

AT 9.34 AM THE MATTER WAS ADJOURNED SINE DIE