Domican v The Queen

This matter concerns an appeal by Thomas Christopher Domican to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of New South Wales. The Court of Criminal Appeal had dismissed Domican's appeal against his conviction for attempted murder. Special leave to appeal to the High Court had been granted.

The legal issue before the High Court, as confined by the grant of special leave and the outline of argument, was solely concerned with the question of identification. The Crown's case against the appellant rested on three categories of evidence: the testimony of an alleged accomplice (whose name was suppressed), admissions allegedly made by the appellant to two prisoners while in custody, and the identification of the appellant as the shooter. The identification evidence primarily stemmed from the testimony of Mrs Kathleen Flannery, the wife of the victim, Christopher Flannery, who had since disappeared.

The Court was required to consider the grounds of appeal relating to identification. The evidence presented at trial included Mrs Flannery's account of the events on the evening of 27 January 1985, when she and her husband returned home to find another car parked on their driveway. The Crown also presented evidence of sightings of the appellant before and after the incident, which was said to corroborate Mrs Flannery's identification. The appellant's conviction was based on the jury's acceptance of this evidence.