Coates, Nicholls and Stapleton v The Queen

The applicants, Coates, Nicholls and Stapleton, were convicted of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of heroin. They appealed their convictions to the High Court of Australia. The central dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence obtained through electronic surveillance, specifically recordings made by listening devices.

The High Court was required to determine whether the evidence obtained by the listening devices was admissible in the criminal proceedings against the applicants. This involved considering the scope and application of the *Listening Devices Act 1984* (NSW) and the common law principles governing the admissibility of illegally or improperly obtained evidence. A key question was whether the provisions of the *Listening Devices Act* excluded evidence obtained in contravention of its terms, or whether the common law discretion to exclude such evidence remained applicable.

The Court ultimately held that the evidence obtained by the listening devices was inadmissible. McHugh and Heydon JJ, in separate judgments, concluded that the *Listening Devices Act* provided a complete code for the admissibility of evidence obtained by listening devices, and that evidence obtained in contravention of the Act was inadmissible. Kirby J, while agreeing with the outcome, reached his conclusion on the basis of the common law discretion to exclude unfairly prejudicial evidence, finding that the admission of the unlawfully obtained recordings would be an affront to the administration of justice. The majority view established that the statutory provisions of the *Listening Devices Act* were determinative of admissibility.

The appeals were allowed, the convictions were quashed, and orders were made for a new trial.