Collier v Director of Public Prosecutions

In *Collier v Director of Public Prosecutions* [1994] NSWCA 54, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal by the applicant, Collier, against the decision of a judge in the District Court. The dispute concerned the applicant's conviction for an offence under the *Crimes Act 1900* (NSW).

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to direct the jury adequately on the defence of provocation. Specifically, the court had to determine if the evidence presented at trial was capable of supporting a finding of provocation, and if so, whether the jury had been properly instructed on the elements of that defence.

The Court of Appeal analysed the evidence in relation to the elements of provocation as established in common law. It considered whether there was evidence of a loss of self-control by the applicant, and whether that loss of self-control was a response to a situation that would have caused an ordinary person to lose self-control. The court found that the evidence did not, as a matter of law, support a finding of provocation, and therefore, the absence of a specific direction on that defence did not constitute a misdirection. The appeal was accordingly dismissed.