Fraser v The Queen

The applicant, Fraser, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal of Queensland. The dispute concerned questions posed to Fraser during cross-examination by the Crown Prosecutor at his trial for rape. Fraser had been convicted of the offence, and his subsequent appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal was dismissed.

The legal issues before the High Court revolved around the admissibility and prejudicial effect of certain questions asked of the applicant during his trial. Specifically, the applicant contended that the cross-examination contained improper questions that went to the character of the accused and were not relevant to the charge of rape, thereby unfairly prejudicing the jury against him.

The High Court considered the evidence presented at trial, including a record of an interview between the applicant and Detective Sergeant Flood. In this interview, the applicant stated, "I didn't touch that bloody girl. She just doesn't like me and has made this up," in response to being informed of the rape complaint. The applicant's defence was that the complainant had consented to the sexual conduct. The Court was required to determine whether the cross-examination, in light of the applicant's statements and defence, was permissible and whether it had unduly influenced the jury's verdict.