DPP v Ivanovic

In the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) brought proceedings against Petar Ivanovic, who was charged with the murder of a man. The case turned on the process of empanelling the jury and specifically whether the jurors were correctly called by number rather than by name. The jury had been called by number in accordance with section 31(3) of the Juries Act 2000, and Ivanovic argued that this was not in line with legal requirements. The central issue was whether the empanelment process complied with the statutory provisions and whether a special or extraneous reason was necessary to call jurors by number.

The court considered whether the calling of jurors by number without a special or extraneous reason was permissible under section 31(3) of the Juries Act 2000. It was established that this section explicitly allows for jurors to be called by number in the absence of any requirement for a special or extraneous reason. The court found that the empanelment process followed the statutory directive correctly and that no additional reason was required to justify calling jurors by number. Therefore, the court dismissed the argument that the empanelment process was flawed.

Having examined the statutory provisions and the procedural steps taken, the court ruled in favour of the DPP, holding that the calling of jurors by number was valid under section 31(3) of the Juries Act 2000. The court confirmed that no special or extraneous reason was necessary to deviate from the usual practice of calling jurors by name. Consequently, the objection raised by Ivanovic was dismissed, and the trial could proceed as planned.