F M T v The Queen

In the case of F M T v The Queen, the applicant was found guilty by a jury of a count of incest. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on two other counts of incest. The applicant sought leave to appeal against the conviction. The primary legal issue was whether the trial judge’s failure to provide a direction regarding the use of certain evidence led to a miscarriage of justice. Additionally, the court examined whether the prosecutor’s comments during the closing address and the characterisation of the applicant’s behaviour contributed to an unsafe and unsatisfactory verdict.

The court held that the trial judge's failure to give a direction regarding the use of the complainant’s evidence about the applicant's violent disposition towards the mother did not lead to a miscarriage of justice. The evidence was not of a kind that disclosed a propensity to commit incest and was not relied upon as evidence of consciousness of guilt. The court also found that the prosecutor’s characterisation of certain behaviour as ‘strange’ did not contribute to an unsafe and unsatisfactory verdict, as the evidence did not disclose a propensity to commit incest. The court concluded that the verdict was consistent and not affected by the absence of a motive to lie, following the principles established in R v Rodriguez.

Given the analysis of the evidence and the application of legal principles from M v The Queen and SKA v The Queen, the court found that the verdict was safe and satisfactory. Therefore, the application for leave to appeal against the conviction was refused.