Cooper v The King

Cooper (the applicant) appealed to the High Court of Australia against his conviction for murder. The applicant had been convicted in the Supreme Court of Queensland following a trial by jury. The central issue on appeal concerned the admissibility of certain evidence obtained by police during an investigation.

The High Court was required to determine whether the evidence, which included statements made by the applicant to police and items seized from his home, had been obtained in contravention of the applicant's rights under the *Criminal Code* (Qld) and, if so, whether that evidence should have been excluded from the trial. Specifically, the court considered the application of s 590A of the *Criminal Code* and the common law exclusionary rule concerning improperly or illegally obtained evidence.

The Court held that the evidence was obtained in contravention of the applicant's rights. However, applying the principles established in *Bunning v Cross* and *Ridgeway v The Queen*, the Court found that the evidence was admissible. The reasoning focused on the balance between the public interest in the conviction of those guilty of serious crimes and the public interest in the due administration of justice, including the protection of individual rights. The Court concluded that the probative value of the evidence was not outweighed by the impropriety of its acquisition, and therefore, the evidence was rightly admitted at trial.

The appeal was dismissed.