Director of Public Prosecutions v Walker

The Director of Public Prosecutions referred questions of law to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory concerning charges of sexual intercourse without consent and statutory indecency. The dispute arose from the trial judge's direction to the Crown to elect between proceeding on the basis of the accused's knowledge or recklessness in relation to these offences, as framed under sections 54 and 60 of the *Crimes Act 1900* (ACT).

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the offences created by sections 54 and 60 of the *Crimes Act 1900* (ACT) constituted one or two distinct offences, depending on the accused's mental state of knowledge or recklessness. Consequently, the Court had to determine whether a charge framed in terms encompassing both knowledge and recklessness was duplicitous, thereby necessitating an election by the Crown.

The Court reasoned that the relevant sections of the *Crimes Act 1900* (ACT) created only a single offence. The inclusion of both knowledge and recklessness as alternative bases for establishing the *mens rea* did not multiply the offence itself. Therefore, the Crown was not required to elect between these alternative mental states when framing its charges. The Court answered the questions of law in accordance with this reasoning.